The Long Haul 2: Time Paradox
by TheMarioAndPeachFanfic
Summary: After not hearing from the Koopa Kingdom for a little over six months, Mario believes that he and Peach are both safe. Little do they know, Bowser has a plan, something he's never tried before, and it might just work... Sexual references/lemons later on. Some violence.
1. Chapter 1

**Back for part 2! Woo-hoo! I simply couldn't wait to start writing this, in fact, some things in this story were probably being typed before I finished uploading the first one. So, you might be able to tell what this will be about from the title, but I promise, I have some ideas. So, sit back, relax, and enjoy!**

 **Chapter 1: Catching up…**

It had been six months, nearly to the day, since the events of Bowser's last invasion. Even though there was the occasional Koopa and Goomba, the Koopa Kingdom had been virtually silent since the invasion. Surprisingly, Peach was not pregnant yet, as Mario and Peach had decided that they would wait until after the kingdoms had merged.

Wait… what? Kingdoms merging?

Yes, in the time between Bowser's invasion and now, Luigi and Daisy had become King and Queen of Sarasaland. As King Mario and King Luigi were now two of the most powerful rulers in the land, they had a large say in politics. Together, they had decided to unite Sarasaland, The Mushroom Kingdom, and a few smaller kingdoms nearby, into a single large superpower, known as the Power Star Nation.

This had been stressful on our favorite Italian plumbers, and today had marked the beginning of a new nation. This called for a party, that only the highest in the land were invited to.

 _ **Back to the characters…**_

Mario was rushing down a hallway in the castle, preparing for the celebration later tonight. He began to order food and drinks at a rather large table, at one end of the main foyer. Finally, he put the finishing touches on his work.

Mario took a deep breath, "There, done!" he said, finally finishing his job. Mario then checked the clock, "Perfect, just about an hour before guests arrive." he said, now searching for Peach.

Mario eventually found Peach, just as she was finishing her set up. "Hello my sweet Peach!" Mario said, walking up to Peach, and giving her a loving peck on the cheek.

"Hello Mario!" Peach said with a smile, "Finished I see?" she asked.

"You bet, I even put a couple finishing touches on it, just for shits and giggles." Mario said.

Peach giggled lightly at Mario's remark, "You do know Luigi and Daisy are supposed to show up early." Peach said, "I scheduled it that way, because I know you don't see your brother as often any more."

This made Mario excited, while he was extraordinarily happy living with Peach, it was true that he missed his brother, as it was rare that they had personal time together after they became royalty.

"So when are they gonna show up?" Mario asked excitedly.

"They should be here any..." Peach was interrupted by a door being knocked on, "Minute..." she finished.

Mario quickly sprinted to the door, and opened it. He greeted Luigi and Daisy, "Hey guys, hope the trip wasn't too rough!" Mario said as he welcomed them inside.

"No, it was absolutely fine!" Daisy said as she walked inside.

"Daisy, Peach is upstairs if you would like to see her." Mario said

"Of course!" Daisy said, "I think I'll go see her, it's been far too long!" Daisy said as she walked upstairs.

This left Mario and Luigi alone, "So bro, how's life, its been a while, and you were pretty quiet coming in." Mario said, giving his brother a hug.

Luigi hugged back, "Oh, life is amazing Mario, and I have some big news I gotta share with you!" Luigi exclaimed.

Mario smiled, "Big news?" he questioned, "Let's go sit down, and you can tell me what's up." Mario said, leading Luigi to his living area. Mario sat down, "So Luigi, what's happening?" he asked.

Luigi sat down too, "Oh not all too much, it's just mind boggling that everything changed so fast." Luigi said, "It's like, all the sudden, one minute, we're off fighting Bowser, next minute, we're both married to royalty."

"I know, crazy chain of events, isn't it?" Mario asked.

"Sure is..." Luigi said, taking a breath.

"So anyway, what's this big news you've got going on?" Mario asked.

Luigi obviously became nervous, "Well Mario, Daisy is uh… kinda…" Luigi dragged on, "Pregnant…" Luigi said quietly.

Mario was pleasantly surprised at the news, "Wow, good for you Luigi!" Mario said, beginning to clap for his brother.

"She's not that far along, only a month or so..." Luigi said.

"Hey, a kid is a kid!" Mario said, walking over to his brother, and giving him a friendly pat on the back.

Then, from the other room, Mario and Luigi heard the girls calling, "Mario, Luigi, where are you guys?" the voices called.

"Coming!" The brothers, yelled simultaneously.

Mario and Luigi walked out in the main foyer, and Peach and Daisy were there.

"The guests will be arriving soon, we have to be ready to greet them!" Peach said to Mario.

"Sounds good!" Mario said, unlocking the door, "I've got the door, Peach, Luigi, Daisy, you guys put the finishing touches up, and I'll join you in a second."

"Alright, sounds like a plan!" The others said as they walked away.

Mario then proceeded to take a breath, and then open the door. Outside, there was a line of people, they were all speaking to one another, and as soon as Mario opened the door, they all went quiet.

Mario cleared his throat, "Attention, welcome to my humble abode." Mario began, "We gather here today to discuss and celebrate the formation of the new kingdom, Power Star Nation, so welcome, please treat my belongings, and each other, with care, and be sure to exit the castle by midnight." Mario said, "Now, let's celebrate!"

Mario began to greet the royalty from kingdoms near the Mushroom Kingdom. Some of the princes he had recognized from that fateful week, many months ago.

After everybody had entered the castle, classy music began to play, and people began to speak very lightheartedly to each other. Everything was going well, people were talking, drinking, and having fun.

Later into the night, Mario checked the clock, it was nearly 10:00 PM, and he had lost track of Luigi, Daisy, and Peach. So, he began to search through the crowd of people, and eventually, he found Luigi.

"Hey bro, sorry I didn't come after you, there was so many people, I just lost track of you all," Mario said.

"Eh, it's not a big deal, there is a lot of people here, so don't worry." Luigi replied.

Mario and Luigi began to converse for a small while, and then a question popped into Mario's mind, "Hey, have you seen the girls anywhere?" Mario asked.

Luigi thought for a moment, "Now that you mention it, I haven't seen either of them since we left you to greet everybody."

Mario thought carefully, "Hmm, odd..." he said, "I think I'm gonna go search for them, you never know what could happen..." Mario said, waving goodbye to his brother.

Mario began to trek through the castle, searching for the girls. Eventually, Mario caught a hint of an orange, frilly dress, in the middle of a crowd. He approached it, and sure enough, it was Daisy. She was being rather antisocial, only occasionally making small talk with others, but mostly keeping to herself.

Mario waited until one of her small conversations was over, and then approached her, "Hey Daisy, how's a going?" Mario asked.

Daisy quickly turned to face Mario, "Oh you startled me, sorry Mario!" she said with a giggle, "I'm well, how about yourself?" Daisy asked.

"Oh I'm OK, I was just looking for you and Peach, I haven't sen either one of you all night!" Mario exclaimed, attempting to make his voice heard through the rather loud crowd.

Daisy thought, "Peach?" she asked, "Haven't seen her since the start of this whole thing..." Daisy said, as she though further. "Have you looked in your room yet?" Daisy asked.

Mario almost slapped himself, such a foolish mistake, how did he not think to check there? "No I haven't, stupid me should have checked there earlier." Mario said, "Well, I shall see you later!" Mario said, waving Daisy goodbye.

Mario began to push his way through the crowd of people, eventually making his way to the stairs in the main foyer, which were off limits for guests. Mario made his way up the stairs, towards his room. At first he thought he heard something, so he listened closer, sure enough, he heard rustling in there. He couldn't tell what, as they had a sound absorbent walls in their room, but he could tell there was something going on.

Mario cracked the door open just a bit, and listened. "Bitch ass prince!" he heard Peach's voice, "Get your filthy ass hands off of me, this instant!"

Those words were all Mario needed. He flung the door open with such great speed, the hinges almost broke. What he saw next, instantly made him furious.

Inside the room, there was a prince, but not just any prince, this was the one Mario had beaten the shit out of, a little more than nine months ago. This prince much bigger than Peach, and easily overpowered her. Peach was half naked, just her panties, and a mostly torn off dress remained to protect her from the prince. The prince was being very rough with Peach, and she was attempting to pull her arms and legs away, in hopes of landing a slap, kick, or punch. However, the prince would just overpower her most of the time.

As soon as the door flung open, Peach's eyes locked with Mario's, "Mario, help me!" Peach screamed.

The prince looked back, and saw Mario, he only smiled, "Hey plumber, long time no see?" he said in an evil voice, "By the way, your wife has a nice set..." he said as he roughly groped one of Peach's breasts.

"MARIO!" Peach cried, "Please help me, you know I would never do this too you, I love you with all my heart and soul!" she screamed through her tears.

Mario quickly leaped into action, grabbing the prince by the throat with great force. "Get the fuck off my wife..." Mario spoke with fury.

"Nice try little bitch..." the prince said, quickly picking Mario up, and tossing him to the side. "You do not touch me…" The prince roared.

Mario stood back up, and brushed himself off, "I think it's the other way around..." Mario said as he charged at the prince.

The prince attempted to grab Mario, but Mario's height, paired with his quick speed, made the prince miss. Mario quickly ran behind the prince, jumped onto him with great force, knocking the prince over, and put the prince into a powerful headlock.

Mario continued to tighten his grip on the princes neck, "Say uncle..." Mario said.

The prince laughed, "Never." he said, in a barely audible, horse voice.

"You asked for it..." Mario said, continuing to hold the princes throat.

The prince soon passed out, and Mario took his limp body, and brought it downstairs, not caring who saw. He opened the main doors, threw the prince outside, and locked him out. He then proceeded to walk back upstairs to Peach.

Mario sprinted into the room, closing the door behind him, and tightly embraced Peach, "Peach, I'm so sorry, are you OK, did he hurt you?" Mario asked to his still half naked wife.

Peach responded with a very tight hug back, and many, many tears, "Yes… I'm OK," Peach said through her tears, "Nothing happened, but he was about to go further..." she said. "Mario, please know, I would never do anything like this to you, I swear, until death do us part."

"Don't worry Peach, I believe you, I know you wouldn't do this to me, I wouldn't do this to you either." Mario said.

Mario then heard a knock on his door, "Should I answer that?" Mario asked Peach.

Peach covered her top half under the blankets on her bed, "Please do Mario."

Mario opened the door, and was pleasantly surprised to find Luigi and Daisy waiting. "Hey bro, what uh… what just happened?" Luigi asked.

Peach, seeing who it was, said, "Please, come in, both of you."

Daisy ran in to comfort the teary eyed Queen, and Luigi went, and sat in a chair, followed by Mario.

"So, what happened?" Luigi asked Mario.

"Well, I couldn't find Peach, so Daisy told me to come check here, since she might be in our room, and I walked in to that one prince, remember, the one who wanted to fight me?" Mario asked "And uh, well he was trying to… well… rape her…" Mario said, looking at Peach.

"Oh my god..." Luigi said "That's so terrible, we need to get that fucker in prison ASAP!"

"Agreed, but we should send everybody home, there has been enough issues tonight." Mario said, "You guys are welcome to stay the night, but it would mean the world to me if you could get everybody going."

"Sure thing bro!" Luigi said, "Hey Daisy, let's leave these guys alone for a bit, we can go dismiss everybody."

Daisy stood up, and gave Peach one more embrace, "OK Peach, Mario, I'll see you in the morning, we'll file a case against that son of bitch."

"Sounds good, see you guys in the morning." Mario said as Luigi and Daisy left the room.

Mario then went to their bed and laid down next to Peach, embracing her tightly, "Peach, I'll always be there for you, I promise…" Mario whispered to her.

Even through Peach's emotions, this made her smile, and she cuddled Mario back, "Mario, thank you, I love you so much, I can't even describe it…" she replied.

Mario smiled, and replied with a passionate kiss, "I love you too Peach, more than you could ever imagine." he said.

The two lovers pulled each other close, and fell asleep in each others arms. Even with the events of the night, Peach felt safe and secure in Mario's arms.

 **Well, how was that for chapter 1? I hope you all enjoyed, and I will see you in the next one!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Another chapter, not much to say, so, enjoy!**

 **Chapter 2: To The… Past?**

Peach was first to open her eyes, and the first thing she saw, was Mario, still holding her, close, and tightly. Peach smiled, "Thank you for loving me so much..." she said almost silently.

A small smile then formed on Mario's face, "You're welcome, my sweet Peach..." Mario replied, in the same tone Peach had spoken in.

Peach blushed, "Mario, you're awake?" she asked.

Mario's eyes fluttered open, "Yeah, but I've only been awake for a minute or two." he said

Mario and Peach laid in bed for a while, softly talking about the events of last nights party, and other small things. Eventually, Peach got up, put some cloths on, and exited her room in search of Luigi and Daisy. Mario followed not long after. They eventually found a guest room that was in use, and Luigi and Daisy were there.

Mario carefully knocked on the door, "Hey, anybody up in there?" he asked quietly.

The door opened, and a sleepy eyed Luigi was the one to open it. "Good morning guys." Luigi said with a small smile, "How did you sleep?"

"I slept well… all things considered..." Peach said.

"I slept good." Mario simply replied, "How about you?" he asked.

"Well, I slept good, and I'm sure Daisy did too, but she's busy right now." Luigi said, pointing at the shower.

Mario nodded, "So, was there any problems dismissing the guests last night?" Mario asked.

Luigi thought for a moment, "No, everything went very well, nobody threw a fit, and everybody was sober enough to make it home." he said.

Mario smiled pleasantly, "That's good to hear!" he said, "I expected something to happen, so that's nice to hear."

As Mario finished that sentence, he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around, and was surprised to see Toadsworth behind him.

"Good morning to you, King Mario." Toadsworth said, bowing to Mario.

Mario smiled at Toadsworth's manners, and bowed back, "Good morning to you as well Toadsworth, how are you today?" Mario asked.

"Oh King Mario, it is a wonderful morning today," Toadsworth said, "I had just received a letter addressed to you, and I figured I would bring it to you." Toadsworth said, handing Mario a letter.

Toadsworth then looked at Peach, and bowed, "Good morning Queen Peach, how are you..." Toadsworth trailed, seeing Peaches smeared makeup. "Queen Peach, have you been crying?" Toadsworth asked.

Peach looked at Mario for confirmation, "Just tell him, we're gonna file a lawsuit anyway." Mario said.

"Come with me Toadsworth, I shall tell you the story." Peach said, walking away with Toadsworth.

This left Mario and Luigi alone in the hallway. "Hey bro, come on in, let's see what that letter says." Luigi offered.

"Sure, why not, probably better you hear it too," Mario said as he entered Luigi's room.

Luigi sat down on his bed, and Daisy came out and sat next to him, and gave him a kiss. Mario sat in a chair, near the corner of the room, and began to open the letter.

"Good morning Mario," Daisy said as she sat next to Luigi, "Where's Peach?" she asked.

"She's telling Toadsworth about last night," Mario said as he pulled the letter out.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Daisy asked.

Mario shrugged, "It doesn't matter, he'll just find out later and get pissed because we didn't tell him sooner."

"I guess you're right..." Daisy said, "So what's the letter say?" she asked.

Mario began to read it, and his eyes widened. "It's from… it's from…" Mario hesitated.

"From who?" Luigi asked.

"It's from Pauline!" Mario exclaimed.

"Pauline!?" Luigi said, "What the hell does your ex want, doesn't she know you're married?" Luigi asked.

Mario continued to read the letter, "She want's to meet on the outskirts of Toad Town at 3 PM today." he said.

"You gonna go?" Luigi asked.

Mario thought for a moment, "I guess, but only if you go with, I don't want things to get out of hand."

Luigi nodded, "Sure, I'll come with, just in case her final words get a little heated."

Mario folded the letter, and tucked it into his back pocket, "Hey Daisy, would you tell Peach where me and Luigi are going, it would mean a lot." Mario said.

Daisy smiled and nodded, "Absolutely!" she said.

Mario smiled, "Sounds good then!" he said, as he checked the time. "If we get cleaned up real quick, we can head out there and see what she wants." Mario said to Luigi.

"Sounds like a plan." Luigi said, getting his shower ready, "I'll meet you by the door when I'm done." he said as he closed the bathroom door.

Mario waved goodbye to Daisy, and left the room. He went back to his room, took a shower, and got ready. Mario dug through his closet, and eventually, found his old everyday cloths, good old blue overalls, and a red shirt. He also dug out his white gloves and iconic hat. Mario got ready, and put his cloths on. They were so comfy and worn, it brought back many memories of his previous adventures.

Mario finished getting ready, and headed for the door. He saw Peach as he was leaving, and gave her a nice passionate kiss, "See you in a bit my Peach." Mario said with a smile.

Peach waved goodbye to Mario, "Good luck!" she said.

Mario met Luigi at the main door, and they began to head into town.

Luigi looked at Mario and laughed, "Looks like we both went classic today!" he said, referencing his clothing, "Just like old times, eh?"

Mario laughed back, "Just like old times..." he said.

The brothers continued their walk through town, being greeted by many toads on the way. Eventually, they arrived at the gate, and left town.

"She said 3, right?" Luigi asked.

"Yep, 3," Mario reassured, "So, we should see her any minute."

The brothers waited a few minutes, and eventually, they began to hear the brush move.

"Hey, Pauline, long time no see!" Mario said, approaching the brush slightly.

After a few steps, the brush stopped moving, and Luigi spoke, "Mario, stop!" he said.

Mario opened his eyes, and looked at the brush, and to his surprise, there was a gun like object trained on him. Only, it didn't look like any gun he had seen before, it was advanced, futuristic almost.

"Freeze bitch!" a familiar voice said.

Mario thought for a moment, "Bowser?" he asked.

"No, it's Pauline, yes Bowser!" the voice said sarcastically. "And today, you fell right into my trap, you stupid ass plumbers!" Bowser roared.

Without hesitation, Bowser pulled the trigger, and a round hit Mario square in the chest, only, there was no blood. Instead, there was intense light, light that consumed Mario's body, and then, he was gone.

"MARIO!" Luigi screamed.

Bowser laughed, "Your turn!" he said, jumping out of the bushes.

Luigi realized that Mario had disappeared, and even though he wanted to look for Mario, there would be no point. So, Luigi took off at a full sprint, and ran, as fast as his legs would carry him, back into town. He had to let somebody know that his brother, the king, had simply vanished into thin air.

 **To Mario…**

Mario opened his eyes, he was laying face first on the ground. Mario stood up, and gathered his thoughts. He couldn't remember much, only that him and Luigi had left to see Pauline, and then Bowser… yeah, Bowser, he pulled a gun on Mario. Mario thought harder, he saw a few bright colors, and then nothing else.

"Hmm, what happened?" Mario asked himself as he looked around.

The weather was different, almost as if the season had changed in a split second. Mario looked around for another minute, and realized that he wasn't far from the castle, in fact, there was a small clearing he could look out of, and see the back of the castle.

Then, without warning, he heard a large object fly, very quickly, over his head, just above the trees. Mario watched the castle. He saw that the large object was Bowser, in his large clown car. He was flying straight for the castle! Then, Mario heard a loud crash, and saw that Bowser had completely demolished the back half of the castle.

Mario heard some yelling, and eventually, three figures hopped out. First, a yellow figure, followed shortly after by a tall purple figure. Finally, a few moments, and a little yelling later, the third figure popped out, and returned to the clown car a few moments later. However, it returned with another person, a familiar one at that.

Mario looked closer, and realized who that was. It was Bowser Jr. and he had just grabbed Peach! Mario noticed something though, Peach wasn't in her normal attire, no, she was wearing a white frilly dress… her wedding dress!

Mario began to piece together what had happened, but became worried at the same time. He continued to watch the castle while he was thinking.

In a matter of just about a minute, Mario saw the yellow figure again, he had gotten tossed out of the huge hole, and plummeted three whole stories! The purple figure followed soon after. Mario watched the clown car, it began to back away slowly, and in a few seconds, Bowser pulled out a cannon, a Bazooka Bill Blaster. He loaded a shell into it, and fired into the castle. The round hit something, and blew up in a brilliant flash of light,

Mario jumped back at this explosion, and heard a loud squeal, "MARIO!" it said. He looked back up, and saw the noise came from Peach.

A few moments later, the clown car flew back over head, and then it was gone.

Mario sat down for a moment, and processed what had just happened. Somehow, someway, Bowser had sent Mario back in time. There was no other explanation. This was exactly what happened just about six months ago.

Mario figured it would be best if he simply stayed under the radar, so, he quietly snuck back to his home, and got inside. He grabbed a few supplies; a tent, a blanket, a pair of binoculars, a change of cloths, some light food and water, a few coins, and a book. He loaded this all into a camping pack, and left for the outskirts of town.

Mario set up his tent, made himself comfortable, and began to read. At about 2 AM, a thought popped into his head. "If this really is the past, then Luigi and I should be in the hospital tonight..." he thought to himself.

Mario then quickly packed his stuff away, and set off for Toad Town. He was very careful, he did not want to be spotted, as he didn't know what was possible. Eventually, Mario got to the hospital. He looked up at the building, and counted the floors. He calculated where him and Luigi had been based on their room number. Mario then began to climb the building, and he eventually found an open window. Mario climbed into the window, and landed in a dark hallway. The only light came from an elevator at the end of the hall.

Mario began to sneak down the hall, and eventually, he found his room. He opened the door very quietly, and snuck in. Mario closed the door behind him, and looked at the bed. There was a blanket covering the body. Mario grew suspicious, and picked up a clipboard on a bedside table. He read through the paper, and remembered reading all of those injuries for himself, but there was an extra page this time.

Mario turned to the last page, and read it over. " _Due to extensive injury to the brain and lungs, the patient was pronounced dead at 12:55 AM."_

His heart sunk, no way, no way was this him, there must be a mistake somewhere. Mario walked up to the bed, and slowly pulled the cover down a few inches. He was nearly sick.

It didn't take much to know your own body, and that was most certainly his own hair. Mario pulled the sheet back over his body, and quickly left the room. He then entered Luigi's room quietly. He looked at Luigi's bed, and Luigi appeared to be OK, just out. He had a 1-Up IV connected to his arm, and his injuries were looking better already. Mario smiled, and approached Luigi, he then gave his brother a light hug.

Without warning, Luigi's eyes opened drowsily. "M… Mario?" Luigi asked, still mostly asleep.

Mario quickly, but gently, pulled away from Luigi, careful not to wake him further. "This is just a dream Luigi, go back to sleep…" Mario said in a low, slow voice.

"OK then mama, what ever you say..." Luigi said as he flopped back down into his pillow.

Mario was sweating profusely, as Luigi had scared him. Mario wiped his brow, and then slowly escaped the room. He quickly left the hospital, he had seen enough today.

Mario went back to the woods and pitched his tent. He got comfortable, and began to read his book again. Even though it may be a lot to ask for, he simply attempted to clear his head of the days events. Within just a few minutes however, Mario had fallen asleep.

 **Back to Mario's reality…**

Luigi, out of breath, and tired from his long sprint, had just arrived back at the castle. "EVERYBODY!" Luigi screamed, even though Peach, Daisy, and Toadsworth were at the top of the steps.

This quickly caught everybody's attention, and they rushed to Luigi. "What seems to be the problem?" Peach asked Luigi, attempting to calm him down.

"Peach, I'm so sorry, but Pauline was Bowser, and then Mario, and…" Luigi got carried away, and ran out of breath.

"Luigi, calm down, breath..." Peach said softly, "What happened?" she asked.

Luigi calmed down slightly. He took a deep breath, and the began to explain himself. "OK, so, Mario and I went to meet Pauline, as she sent a letter saying she was here and wanted to talk."

Peach nodded, "Yes, Daisy said that, what else?" she asked.

"And then Bowser popped out of the bush, and he had some kind of future gun!" Luigi continued, "Then, he shot Mario, and Mario flashed really bright light, and he just, disappeared." Luigi finished.

Peach backed away, and covered her mouth. Tears began to flow out, "Bowser shot him, and he just… disappeared?" Peach asked.

Luigi hesitantly nodded.

"Oh no!" Peach said, beginning to sob, "We must find out what happened, and fast!" she said.

Daisy thought for a moment, "Peach, I know somebody who can help." Daisy said.

Peach looked up, "Really, you do?" she asked through her tears.

"I do, she's a world class fortune teller, she has connections with the past, present, and future, I think she can tell us what happened to Mario." Daisy finished.

"Well then let's go!" Peach said, rushing to the door.

"Hang on Peach, first we need something, or somebody Mario loved dearly," Daisy said, "Blood relatives don't count," she said looking at Luigi.

"Well, that doesn't matter then, because I think our key is coming with us already." Luigi said, pointing at Peach.

Daisy thought for a moment, "True..." she said, "Now, we just need to get to Sarasaland."

"I know somebody who runs a train, he'll help us out" Peach said, "He helped Mario out when Wario invaded your kingdom." Peach said to Daisy.

Daisy thought for a moment, "Well, as long as we have Peach, and transportation, we're good to go then..." Daisy said. "Now everybody, pack some supplies, we leave in the morning, and Peach, I promise you, we will find Mario."

Peach smiled softly, "Thank you Daisy, I can always count on you."

Luigi and Daisy walked up to their room, and began to pack supplies. Peach stayed downstairs for a moment, and looked out the window. "Mario, I promise, with all if my heart and soul, I will find you, no matter what..." Peach whispered.

She then went up to her room, and began to prep for tomorrow, they had a long trip ahead of them.

 **Whew, end of chapter 2! I had to think about this one for a while. Depending on a few different factors in this chapter, I could have changed the entire story in many ways. Anyway, I hope this was OK for you, and I'll see you in the next one!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: Headless… Bowser?**

"Take that, you fat Koopa fuck!" Mario said as he began to kick Bowser in the temple.

Mario had made it through Bowser's castle, and had beaten Bowser down out of pure rage. He was now on a mission, fueled by his hatred for Bowser, and his love for Peach.

After a few more hard kicks with his steel toed shoes, Mario's foot penetrated Bowser's skull, and Bowser's body began to shake uncontrollably. Mario felt a mix of guilt, joy, and confusion. He began to get light headed, and suddenly, passed out.

Mario jolted awake, and searched his surroundings. He was in his tent, and it was just about the crack of dawn, judging by the light coming through the walls. Remembering his violent and bloody dream, a shudder ran through his body.

Suddenly, tears came to Mario's eyes, "Why… Why Bowser…" he cried quietly, "Why have you separated me from my family and friends…"

Mario continued to cry for a short while, until he heard distant noises. He stopped crying, wiped his eyes, and went outside to investigate the sound. Not 500 yards from him, he saw Luigi, and he was leading an army of toads.

Luigi began to shout at the marching toads, "Come on men, hustle!" he yelled, "We must end the Koopa Kingdom, in the name of Mario, and Princess Peach!"

The army got quickly closer, and Mario quickly camouflaged his tent with some branches, and then hid behind a bush. Luigi suddenly stopped, Mario was only a few feet away from him, so he quieted his breathing.

He began to speak, in a vengeful, yet confident tone, that Mario had only heard a handful of times. "OK men, this is the forest of illusion, we will enter now, and exit at noon, understood?"

"Sir, yes sir!" the toads replied.

"Good..." Luigi said, "Now, when we arrive, we demolish anything we can find; houses, shops, people, the whole damn kingdom itself, nothing, and I mean nothing, will stay standing, understood?"

"Sir, yes sir!" the toads replied obediently.

Luigi smiled, a slightly insane smile, but a happy one none the less, "If those directions are clear, then we continue on, come soldiers!" Luigi shouted.

Then, Luigi, and the entire army, began to march again.

As soon as the army was out of sight, Mario ran back to his house, as fast as he could. He began to search his house for a device him and Luigi were constructing. This device was an audio device, it could be attached to any article of clothing, and was virtually invisible. The reason Mario had this device, was because they were planning to spy on Bowser, by bugging his minions, and listening to their plans. However, this idea was scrapped, as a Koopa was spotted, recording the plans for this idea.

After Mario finished a few small modifications, he began the painstaking process of bugging every single shirt Luigi owned. "I'm sorry bro, but I gotta know what's going on..." Mario said to himself.

 **To the present…**

Peach, Luigi, and Daisy had packed, and now set off on an adventure to Sarasaland. There, Daisy knew somebody who could contact living beings, at any point in time or space; as long as a beloved person, or object was brought to them.

All three of hero's had just left the castle, and stocked up on supplies. They all had a large hiking bag, of their respective colors.

As they walked through Toad Town, Luigi asked a question, "So Peach, where exactly is this train?"

Peach thought for a moment, and began to respond quietly, "There is a secret underground tunnel system that they use, Mario showed it to me." Peach said.

Daisy raised an eyebrow, "Mario showed it to you?" she asked, confused.

"Yes, Mario showed it to me, he had it set up to travel back and forth quickly between here and Sarasaland." Peach replied.

Daisy nodded in understanding, "Ah, I though Mario was involved in some shady shit for a second there."

Luigi chuckled at Daisy's remark, "Well, you're not wrong..." Luigi said to Daisy.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Daisy retorted.

Luigi quickly closed the conversation, "Hey, Bowser does some shady shit too, all I'm saying is that you have to beat people at their own games sometimes." Luigi said defensively.

Daisy narrowed her eyes at the green plumber, "Sure..." she said rather sarcastically.

After a few more minutes of walking, Peach stopped at a house, and knocked in a fairly complex pattern. "Hey, let me in," Peach whispered.

The door opened, "Come in, quickly..." a voice said.

All of the hero's entered the house. "What do you need, and why are you bringing guests?" the voice asked.

"We need to get to Sarasaland, and fast," Peach replied.

The voice laughed, "Why, it's going to be at least a month before we can start a train up to get you there, so fast isn't exactly realistic," the voice said.

Peach sighed, "Albert, in the time it takes for you to get a train, we could walk there."

Albert laughed again, and walked in plain view of the others, "Well, good luck getting there alive, just the other day, a massive stand off started, and it's gonna be on for a while." he said.

Luigi gasped, "Albert!?" he said in shock, "But you're supposed to be a friendly jewelry store guy; what are you doing running shady ass businesses like this?" Luigi asked.

Albert laughed, "The jewelry store is just a side hobby, this is where real money is at." he said. While observing the group, he noticed the ring on Peach's finger, "Hey, that ring looks familiar..." he said.

"What do you mean?" Peach asked.

"Mario bought that from me a little over nine months ago…" Albert said, putting the pieces together, "My god, Peach, are you married to Mario?" Albert asked with great joy.

"Yeah, didn't you hear?" Peach asked.

"Oh Peach, I just knew you got married, why, I had no clue Mario was planning such a proposal!" Albert said.

Peach changed the subject, "Well, Mario is kind of why we're here..." Peach said, "You see…"

Peach told Albert the whole story, and how Daisy knows somebody in Sarasaland.

Albert thought for a moment, "Well my dear, I am truly sorry about your loss, but the best I can do is three weeks, as the entire train must be rebuilt."

Peach cupped her hands, and laid her face in them, "Oh no… what will we do then?" she pleaded.

Daisy put her hand on Peach's shoulder, "Peach, Mario is one tough son of a bitch, you know that; I'm sure he'll be OK."

Peach looked up, "Are you sure?" she asked.

Daisy giggled, "Absolutely sure." Daisy reassured.

Peach looked at Albert, "Well..." she hesitated, "Could I get a ride in three weeks?" she asked.

"Absolutely." Albert replied, "You can even stay here, just make yourself at home." Albert offered.

 **Back to Mario…**

Mario had just finished bugging all of Luigi's cloths. Unless Luigi ran butt-naked away, there was not a word Mario wouldn't hear. Mario then looked at a clock.

"Hmm, if I hurry, I can get there in time…" he said, quickly rushing out the door.

Mario hurried as fast as he could, and eventually, he made his way out of the forest, and near the Koopa Kingdom. He saw Luigi, and his army, waiting to invade.

"OK everybody, I'm gonna count to ten, and when I hit that, we charge, full force, full power, understood?" Luigi ordered.

"Sir, yes sir!" the toads replied.

Luigi began to count, and Mario's heartbeat got faster with each number. Toads were all preparing their weapons, and they had everything. Explosives, napalm, projectiles, even physical combat tools.

"CHARGE!" Luigi yelled, as all of the toads ran.

Luigi turned, and followed the toads. Mario was awestruck at how quickly the battle became violent. In mere seconds, there had been multiple high powered explosives fired off, and napalm was being thrown left and right. In that short period of time, so much damage had been done, it was almost surreal. The bodies of the dead Koopa people were incinerated in the blasts, and those that survived were taken prisoner.

Mario snuck in, and did his best to hide behind the rubble. The battle continued for only a few hellish hours, until all of the buildings were gone. All that remained was a damaged castle, in the middle of town. Luigi ordered a line of toads to rig explosives around the castle. After the bombs were set, Luigi called his toads back, and ordered the blast.

One massive explosion later, the castle still stood. Suddenly, Bowser walked out of the castle, holding Peach. Bowser took a look around, and realized the destruction to his city.

Luigi began to speak up, "Bowser, this is your final chance, give up the princess, and sacrifice yourself," Luigi said viciously, "Your compliance will result in the survival of your kingdom."

Bowser looked around, and fell to his knees. His head looked down in shame, and he began to cry. "Luigi..." Bowser said through his upset anger, "I will make sure you burn for this..." Bowser said as he released the princess.

Peach ran back to the army of toads, and Luigi approached Bowser. "You son of bitch, all of the problems that you've caused us, all of the time we've wasted on you..." Luigi said in a degrading tone.

Bowser looked up at Luigi, "Wasted time!" he said in anger, "So you raid my kingdom, murdering hundreds of innocent victims, because of a little wasted time!?"

Something about those words bugged Luigi, because it seemed as if those words had caused him to mentally snap. "Wasted time, that's all you think you did!?" Luigi said with fury, "YOU KILLED MY BROTHER!" Luigi screamed in Bowser's face.

With those words, Luigi quickly searched his overalls, and found a Starman, "BURN IN HELL YOU LIVING PIECE OF SHIT!" Luigi screamed as he violently ripped Bowser's head from his shoulders.

With the remaining power from the Starman, Luigi whipped Bowser's head as hard as he could, sending it miles and miles away.

Luigi turned back around to face his army. He was greeted with some cheers, and others talking in a disappointed tone. Luigi looked back at Bowser's headless body, and the full weight of his actions weighed upon him. Luigi began to cry.

He fell to his knees, and the princess comforted him. "Peach..." Luigi continued to sob, "I'm so sorry, all of my anger with Bowser, it just boiled over, I couldn't take it..."

Peach stood Luigi back up, "It's OK, we needed to rid the world of him Luigi, after all of the pain and suffering he's caused us, don't worry..." Peach said.

Luigi looked at Peach, and it made him cry more, "Peach, I have some horrible news..." he said

Peach began to piece together what he meant, but didn't accept it yet, "What's wrong Luigi?" she asked nervously.

"Peach… Mario is… dead," Luigi said, bursting out in more tears.

Peach instantly teared up, "Luigi… no, please no..." she said.

Luigi nodded slowly, "The Bazooka Bill shot, it was nearly direct contact, there was no chance."

This caused many tears to fall, and for about an hour, that was exactly what happened. Eventually, it began to rain, and even with the mood, everybody decided to head home. Luigi walked the princess home, and then went home himself.

Mario sat in a pipe outside, where he was guarded from the rain, and began to listen to Luigi.

Luigi was bawling, "Mario, why… why did this have to happen, if only there was a different ending… somewhere else…" Luigi continued.

Mario heard the phone ring, and Luigi answered it. "Hello?" he asked, still crying.

"Master Luigi, hello." the voice said.

"Oh hello Toadsworth, how are you?" Luigi asked, attempting to hide his emotions.

Toadsworth could easily tell Luigi was attempting to be strong, "Master Luigi, do not hold your feelings inside, it is better to let them out." he said.

Luigi then began to cry again, "Toadsworth, I'm sorry, I should be more calm around you." Luigi said

Toadsworth sighed, "Master Luigi, it is quite alright, I understand the loss of a loved one, and I am truly sorry for your loss."

Luigi cheered up a little, "Thanks Toadsworth, I appreciate it." Luigi said, "So, what are you calling about?" Luigi asked, composing himself slightly.

"Master Luigi, I've called about the burial." Toadsworth said, "You see, tomorrow we are holding a burial, and we wanted to inform you, so you show up."

Luigi took a deep breath, and held back tears, "OK, I will be there Toadsworth, for sure." he said.

"Ah splendid!" Toadsworth said, "Now, the service will begin at ten AM, in the castle courtyard, does this sound satisfactory?" Toadsworth asked.

"Yes Toadsworth, that will work, I'll be there." Luigi replied.

"Sounds good, once again, I am sorry for your loss, goodbye Master Luigi." Toadsworth said as he hung up.

Luigi said goodbye to Toadsworth, and then went to bed. Mario waited until Luigi stopped crying, and finally began to snore. He then began to, very carefully, make his way inside the house. He entered his room quietly, and dug through his closet, until he was able to find an unrecognizable, and rarely worn suit. After he found the combination of dress cloths, he searched for a concealing hat. Mario found a top hat with wide rims, and took it with him. He then carefully put everything back, accept the suit, in its place, and left the house.

Mario went back into the woods, and pitched his tent before it got too dark. "I can't believe I'm gonna watch myself get buried..." he said as he set his camp up.

Mario then got as comfortable as he could, and went to sleep. He knew he would have to wake up early for the funeral tomorrow.

 **So, was that OK? I hope there was enough action for everybody in this chapter, and I hope you all enjoyed it! So anyway, see you in the next one!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: The Funeral**

Mario awoke bright and early, ready for the day, when he then remembered what today actually was. He realized that he was not in his own bed, sleeping next to the love of his life, rather, he was in a flimsy tent, about to watch his own body get buried.

Mario took a peek outside, and realized that the service must be starting soon, so he began to get ready. He checked his bag for utilities, and found a bar of soap, a travel size bottle of shampoo, and some toothpaste. Mario washed himself in a nearby stream, and then began to get dressed. His suit was almost brand new, and his hat was very concealing.

Mario tilted his hat, and checked his suit over, "I hope nobody notices…" he said, beginning his walk to the castle.

The funeral was an open event, as the death of a hero should not go unseen. Mario simply strolled in, being careful to stay away from familiar faces, and very careful to not speak to anybody. As Mario walked through the crowd, he saw Luigi, Peach, and Daisy, all huddled together in a group. Mario stayed a safe distance away, but still close enough to listen.

Poor, poor, Peach was bawling her eyes out, more than Mario had ever seen before. Luigi and Daisy were attempting to comfort her.

Luigi began to speak, in a depressed, sad tone, "Peach, I miss him too, but think, he wouldn't want us to be bawling like this, would he?" Luigi asked.

Peach looked up at Luigi, and Mario caught a glimpse of her face. All of her makeup had run, and she looked like she was about to fall apart. She then wrapped he arms tightly around Luigi, and gave him a tight embrace, and broke into tears once again, "Oh Luigi, I know, but it's just so hard to forget those last moments, I mean, I didn't even get to say goodbye..." she said, burying her face in Luigi's dress coat.

These actions caused Luigi to begin crying as well, and he patted Peach on the back, "Hey…" Luigi noticeably struggled to continue his sentence, "He's probably up there, chomping on a Super Mushroom right now, wishing us well…"

Mario then caught a glimpse of Daisy, who was very quiet, much quieter than normal. She was crying silently, cupping her face in her hands. She then joined Luigi and Peach in a tight embrace, "You guys, I'm so sorry, I don't even know how to describe what I feel…" Daisy said quietly.

It took everything Mario had, all of his restraint, to not jump out, and show the world he was alive. Mario attempted to clear his head, took a deep breath, and continued to listen.

Toadsworth then walked up to the group of three, "Princess, we must begin the burial, there is business to attend." he said.

Those words must have enraged Peach, as she raised her voice to Toadsworth, "You know what Toadsworth?" she yelled through her tears, "All you ever talk is business, you can't even let me have a day to mourn the loss of Mario!" she said.

Toadsworth didn't stand for the backtalk, "Peach, you must be married by the end of this week, that is Mushroom law, and that is final!" he shouted back, "Now, prepare yourself, whether you like it or not, the service is starting now!" he said, walking away to avoid Peach's retaliation.

Daisy and Luigi looked at Peach, and Daisy spoke softly, "Married by the end of the week?" Daisy asked, "What's that about?"

Peach sighed, "Act 237 of the Mushroom Documents states that, Royalty shall be married by the end of their twenty fourth birth week." Peach said, "That means, whether I want to or not, I'm going to have to be married by Sunday, to some bullshit prince." she said.

Daisy gasped, "But that's ridiculous!" she said in shock, "You and Mario were sealed in a marriage by a royal priest, and a kiss, how come that's not being talked about?"

"They just want somebody to take over after I die, they don't care what I want." Peach said, "Let's go watch the service now, Toadsworth won't want to waste a second..." she said, changing the subject.

Luigi, Peach, and Daisy began to walk away, towards a hole that had been dug for Mario to be laid to rest. Music began to play, just a light mist of rain began to fall from the sky. People gathered around the hole, and Mario managed to get a front row seat. Peach was directly across from him, and she was crying again.

Apparently, Mario had missed the speeches, but he thanked himself for being late, he didn't know if he could handle it. Four Toads then got on each side of the coffin, and grabbed ropes that had been strung underneath it. They began to lift the coffin into the air, and then slowly lower it into the hole. Everybody put their heads down, and many began to weep.

After about a minute, the Toads had lowered the coffin into the hole, and let go of the ropes. All of this, the others crying, the sad music, the rain, and the fact that it was Mario being buried, must have just been too much for Peach. This was because, as soon as the coffin had been lowered fully, Peach fell to her knees, and began to scream.

"MARIO!" Peach screamed over and over again, crying more and more as she screamed, "NO PLEASE DON'T TAKE HIM AWAY!" she yelled, attempting to drag herself closer to the hole.

Luigi and Daisy both began to cry, and began to pull Peach back, as dirt was being thrown into the hole. Peach fought both of them for a few moments, but eventually, she just gave up, and went completely limp, she was now simply just crying.

Luigi and Daisy dragged Peach away, and went inside the castle. Mario carefully followed behind them, and snuck in. He then began to listen and watch them.

Both Luigi and Daisy were attempting to comfort Peach, but it simply wasn't working. Peach began to speak, "I would give anything, just to see him again, just to hold his hand again, I would give up everything, royalty, money, my home, just to say, 'I love you' one more time..." Peach said through her sobs.

Mario couldn't take it anymore, he had to approach them. He quickly devised a plan, a small one, but it had to work. He came out from hiding, kept his head tilted down, and got closer to the group.

Luigi was the first one to see him, "Hey, who the hell are you?" Luigi asked, causing everybody else to look up at Mario.

Mario thought very quickly, and then cleared his throat, he attempted to change the pitch of his voice, "My name in Angelo." he said, taking a small bow. "I'm terribly sorry for your loss, as I knew Mario too." he said.

Peach looked suspiciously at Mario, "How did you know him?" she asked.

Mario thought quickly once again, "I owned a small flower farm, he used to buy nearly all of his Fire flowers and Ice flowers from me." Mario said

Peach still wasn't buying it, "How did you find out about this?" she asked, "It was rather exclusive to the Mushroom Kingdom."

"Well..." Mario said, buying himself a couple extra seconds, "I live rather close to the Koopa Kingdom, and I heard some explosions, so I came out so see what was the matter, and I heard Luigi yelling at Bowser, before I witnessed his, rather violent, end" he said.

"So why did you come here then?" Peach asked, slightly convinced.

Mario thought again, something that would push Peach over the edge, and make her believe him. "Well, something as bloody and as gruesome as a decapitation, must mean something major, especially to such a powerful figure." Mario said.

After that, it had appeared that Mario had won the trust of Peach. He was about to question her further, when Toadsworth entered, and grabbed Peach, "Princess, a prince had contacted me about the wedding, he sounds like a perfect match for you."

Peach wasn't able to get a single word in before she was dragged upstairs. Luigi and Daisy didn't seem to take interest in Mario's persona, and they simply waved goodbye and left. Mario needed nothing more, so he walked back to his tent, and got inside. He changed his cloths, and began to gather the information he had learned that day.

Mario pulled out a small notepad, and began to write, "So, Peach has to be married by…" Mario thought about the date for a moment, "Tomorrow." he wrote.

Mario thought about that for a moment, and then did a double take, "Wait, tomorrow?!" he said, "Their gonna marry her to some son of a bitch that she's known for less than a day, just because they want kids?" Mario thought to himself.

Mario laid down, and attempted to relax. He took in all of his thoughts, and formed a plan for tomorrow.

 **To the real world…**

Peach, Luigi, and Daisy were lounging around, simply waiting for the train to be rebuilt.

Luigi sighed, "I'm sorry I didn't do anything, it all just happened so fast, I couldn't do anything…" Luigi said as he was shushed by Daisy.

"Luigi, it's not your fault that Mario is gone, so don't look at it that way, OK?" Daisy asked, planting a peck on Luigi's cheek.

"Yeah." Peach added, "Don't be so hard on yourself Luigi, it's not your fault Bowser decided to be a dumb ass." she said.

A knock was then heard, and all of the hero's turned to look at the door. The knock was heard again. Peach hesitated for a moment, and then she spoke, "Come in..." she said.

First Albert entered, and a few seconds later, a lady dressed in robes followed him.

"Good evening." the mystery lady said as she greeted the hero's.

Daisy smiled, "Long time, no see, eh Jewel?" she asked.

Jewel looked at Daisy, and smiled, "Indeed, it has been some time since we last spoke!" she said, giving Daisy a hug, "I saw your future, and so far, all of your wishes have come true, yes?" she asked.

Daisy blushed for a moment, "Oh, uh… yeah!" she said, scratching the back of her head, "Everything has been going well!"

Jewel giggled lightly, "I was able to see that Luigi makes you very happy!" she said, "But I didn't tell you, because half the fun is finding it for yourself!"

Jewel then walked over, and greeted Peach, "Queen Peach…" Jewel said, taking Peach's hand, "I sensed your distress, but it is stronger than I imagined…" she said.

Peach blushed lightly, forgetting to say hello, "How do you know?" Peach asked.

"I know many things…" Jewel said, "For example, I know that your marriage makes you extraordinarily happy, however, your husband has been absent for…" she felt Peach's hand more, "Just about three days now, am I correct?" Jewel asked.

Peach jerked her hand away, "What… but, how?" Peach asked in shock.

Jewel laughed, "Do not be frightened my dear, it is simply just a gift!" she said, "I was taught by spirits, how to read people, their minds, their souls…" she said, "I was taught how to communicate with the dead, missing, and critically injured as well."

Peach shuddered, "Wow… those are some pretty great gifts!" she said nervously.

Jewel smiled and nodded, "Indeed they are!" she exclaimed. "Anyway, I could sense Daisy, she was in need of a teller." Jewel explained.

"How could you sense that?" Daisy asked.

Jewel turned to Daisy, "Well, since we have formed such a strong bond over the years, I am able to predict your thoughts, and sense your emotions, so I decided to come here, as I knew you would be in need." she said.

"Wow…" Daisy said in awe. She then snapped out of her shock, and began to explain, "Well Jewel, you were right in coming here, because we do need you." Daisy said. "You see, Bowser hit Mario with some kind of bullet, something we've never seen before, and it caused him to just, vanish…" Daisy explained.

"So you would like me to communicate with this Mario character then?" she asked.

Daisy nodded, "Yes, exactly, could you please do that?" she asked.

Jewel smiled, "Indeed I can, I just need a non blood relative, or a beloved object, and I will be able to speak to him." she said.

Peach stepped forward, "I am what you will need…" she said shyly.

Jewel stopped for a moment, "Ah, this was unexpected, even I did not see this!" she said, "Is this Mario, your missing husband?" she asked.

Peach nodded slowly, and began to tear up, "Yes, he is my husband, and I miss him, so, so much…" she said.

"Oh Peach!" Jewel said, "Do not be sad, as I sense a very strong life force from your husband, he is very much alive." she said.

Peach perked up, "Wait, really?" she asked.

Jewel nodded, "Indeed, but I can only read so much, I need you to sit down if you would like communication." she said.

Peach gladly complied, and sat down on a bed.

"Now Queen Peach, make yourself comfortable, I will need to search for a good transmission point, and it may wear on you as well." Jewel said, beginning to search Peach's body for a spot she could use.

Eventually, Jewel's hand ran over the gemstone on Peach's dress, "Here, right here has the strongest energy…" she said.

Jewel closed her eyes, and began to speak in an ancient language, unknown to everybody else. Peach began to feel memories so vivid, they almost felt tangible. Jewel then opened her eyes, and they were glowing white. She finished her speech in the ancient language, and an image began to form out of a mysterious smoke. The image showed a sleeping Mario, laying in a tent.

 **To Mario…**

Mario had fallen asleep, and had slept surprisingly well for a short while. However, he was abruptly woken up by a burning sensation in his chest.

"Mama Mia!" Mario shouted, opening his eyes.

As soon as he opened his eyes, the burning faded, but a small cloud of smoke began to form in front of him.

"Holy shit, fire!" Mario yelled.

 **To Peach…**

After a few moments of the smoke forming, Peach saw Mario jump up, and look directly into the smoke, she then heard his voice, "Holy shit, fire!" it said.

Peach's heart rose for a moment, "No Mario, it's Peach!" she shouted, "It's me, Peach!" she continued.

 **The two worlds now mix…**

Mario heard Peach's voice, and seconds later, the smoke engulfed him. The same happened to Peach, she had called his name, and was then enveloped by smoke.

Within a few seconds, the smoke faded, and she was staring directly at Mario. They locked eyes for only a few seconds, before running towards each other, and embracing.

"Oh my god, Mario, its been so long since I hugged you..." Peach said, tears forming in her eyes.

Mario kept a firm hold on Peach, "Who, what, where… is this a dream?" Mario asked.

Peach looked Mario straight in the eyes, "No Mario, this is completely real, Daisy hired a teller to come and allow us to speak." she said.

Mario thought for a moment, "But… how?" he asked. "That's impossible!" he said.

Peach grabbed Mario's arm and pinched him, he responded with a quick jerk. "What was that for?" he asked.

"To prove that I'm real, that this is real, because if it wasn't, you would have waken up." Peach said.

Mario thought for a moment, this had to be real, as Peach was indeed right, you couldn't feel pain in dreams.

Mario began to freak out a little. He began to shake and cry, "Peach, I miss you so much, I need to get back to you, I don't know how much more of this I can take!" he exclaimed.

Peach attempted to comfort Mario, "Take much more of what?" she asked, "Where are you?"

Mario thought, "I think I'm in a different dimension or something, I went back in time to Bowser's last invasion, accept… it didn't work how it was supposed too…" Mario said.

"What do you mean, what wasn't supposed to happen?" Peach asked.

Tears began to run down Mario's face, and he looked down, "I watched myself die..." he said. "I watched myself get blown up, and then buried, I watched you, Daisy, and Luigi mourn the loss at a funeral, I watched you, fall to your knees, and bawl your eyes out..." Mario finished.

Peach ran those events through her head, "Oh my god, Mario, I'm so sorry, that must be like going through hell!" she said, embracing him tighter

Mario began to let his emotions flow freely, and everything began to pour out, "Peach!" he yelled, "It really is like hell!" he said, now crying heavily, "I just wanna go home, back to you, and the castle, and Luigi and Daisy, and hell, even Toadsworth, just take me away from this!" he said.

Suddenly, a voice piped in, "Mario, you have gone to an alternate reality, you need to find Bowser Jr. he has the key to you returning."

Mario heard this, "Where is Bowser Jr.?" he asked.

"Bowser Jr. ran away after his father died, he ran to Sarasaland." the voice said, "I'm running out of energy, you need to say your goodbyes now, and Mario, find Bowser Jr."

Mario nodded, and gave Peach one final embrace, "I miss you..." he said, planting a passionate kiss on Peach's lips.

Then, without warning, everything flashed white, and Peach collapsed onto the bed, and Mario collapsed onto his sleeping bag.

 **Just to Peach now…**

Everybody crowded around Peach, and they began to check and see if she was alright. She appeared to be out cold for a few moments, but quickly woke up.

Jewel was sitting on the bed, next to Peach, "Are you OK sweetie?" she asked.

Before saying anything, Peach grabbed Jewel, and tightly embraced her, "Oh my god, thank you so much..." she said, beginning to cry tears of joy, "I can't believe I got to see him!"

Jewel smiled, "I'll take that as a yes." she said, returning the hug.

Peach and Jewel then broke the embrace, and Peach looked at her friends.

"So, what happened?" Luigi asked.

Peach explained what she had seen, and the words she had exchanged with Mario.

"Yes, Mario has traveled to an alternate reality, one where he has died." Jewel said, "He must find Bowser Jr. in order to return."

"Well is there anything we can do to help him?" Luigi asked.

Jewel thought for a moment, "Hmm, I'm afraid not..." she said, "Mario must find his way back, on his own, all we can do is hope and wait for his safe return."

And with that, the hero's settled down, and attempted to relax. After a while, Daisy found a bottle of liquor, and everybody began to drink, and attempt to have a little fun, despite the problem at hand.

 **Hey guys, end of this chapter, so I hope you enjoyed! I tried to make Peach and Mario connect, and I hope that it worked OK! Anyway, see you in the next chapter!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: The Wedding 2.0**

Mario opened his eyes, he had figured he had just had a strange dream, and that's all. Mario then touched his lips, and looked at his fingers. There was a small amount of pink lip gloss on the tip of his finger, and suddenly, it all came to him. That was far from a dream… that was actually Peach. Mario then opened his tent, and looked outside. The sun was falling, and the wedding was today.

"Shit!" Mario said as he began to scramble.

He quickly got his things together, and packed up his campsite, remembering what the strange voice had told him, "Find Bowser Jr."

Mario rushed to the castle, found a good hiding place, and began to watch through a window, and listen to the audio, via the mic on Luigi. He listened to all of the vows, the speeches, and the cheering.

He did notice one thing though. Peach seemed unhappy, almost sad. Mario had to find out more of what was happening.

Mario dug through his bag until he found a small pair of binoculars, and he began to peep through the window. "I'll be damned..." Mario said as he looked at who Peach was marrying.

Peach's husband was non other than a prince of course. And he was the same prince that Mario had beaten up.

The priest finally finished up his words and speaking. "You may now, kiss the bride." he said.

The prince took full control of the situation. Peach did not lean in for the kiss at all, in fact, it appeared as if she pulled away slightly. The prince then picked up Peach bridal style, and began to walk out of the castle. The entire crowd of people followed after Peach and the prince, so Mario followed them.

Eventually, after the sun had set, the crowd made their way to a high class restaurant, that had been specially reserved for the royal wedding. Mario remembered his reception was planned in the same place, before Bowser came.

The prince seemed especially happy, as he was mingling, and going around with many other people. Mario noticed Peach, just sitting at the table, not eating any of the food that was brought to her, rather, she was just poking at it. Luigi must have noticed the prince was off with a group of his friends, and they were drinking, so he walked over to Peach.

Luigi took a seat next to Peach, "So, congratulations Peach!" Luigi said, Mario could tell he was trying really hard to be genuine.

Peach sighed, "Luigi, it's OK, you don't have to be genuine, because I certainly won't…" Peach said.

This took a little tension off Luigi, "Peach, what's wrong?" he asked.

Peach hid her face in her hands, "Everything is wrong Luigi…" she said, beginning to cry, "This shouldn't be happening, I should be hanging out with you, Daisy, and Mario right now..." she said.

Luigi gave Peach a friendly hug, "Peach cheer up, please?" Luigi asked.

Peach looked up, and a small smile formed, "Thank you for your concern Luigi, but I just can't cheer up, I should be married to Mario, instead, I'm here with some random ass prince, who I don't really know, and who's probably just going to take advantage of me..." she said.

Luigi looked down, at a loss for words, "I… I'm sorry Peach, I guess if you ever need anything, you know where to go…" Luigi said

Peach smiled, and gave Luigi a hug, "You know, you remind me of Mario so much, you two could be so different at times, but you're both so similar too." she said.

As Peach was hugging Luigi, he heard heavy footsteps behind him.

"What the hell is this?" the king said, grabbing Luigi, and forcefully yanking him off of Peach.

"I'm talking to Peach, what's the problem?" Luigi asked.

The king tossed Luigi to the floor, "You shall address both of us by 'King' or 'Queen' respectively, and nothing else, understood?" the king said sternly.

Luigi looked at the king, and stood back up, getting dangerously close to him, "I will talk to Peach whether you like it or not, how about that?" Luigi challenged.

Within a split second, the king had punched Luigi, and hard. Luigi was out cold, on the floor with an instant bruise now forming on his cheek.

"Keep talking like that punk, and you'll end up just like your pussy ass brother..." the king said, proceeding to spit on Luigi.

Peach watched in horror, "Stop that, right this instant!" she yelled, "How could you do such a thing?" she asked, going to the floor to help Luigi.

The king yanked her off the floor, "Stay away from that peasant, I order you too." he said, grasping Peach firmly by the arm, "Now, why don't we get out of here..." the king said, letting her arm loose, and sliding his hands all over Peach.

"Get your filthy ass hands off of me!" she said, pushing herself away, "I am done with you already!" Peach yelled, quickly sprinting out the door.

People chased after her, but nobody knew where she had gone; accept Mario.

Mario knew of a secret spot on Power Star Summit where Peach would go when she was upset. Mario was the only other soul she had trusted this information with, and he had been faithful. So, Mario followed her up to her secret spot, careful not to be spotted. Mario came up near Peach, and hid behind some bushes, just watching for a moment.

Peach was bawling her eyes out, "Bowser, why did you have to do this, I loved Mario so much, and you robbed it all away from me!" she screamed. She cried for a little longer, and then began to speak quietly, "Oh Mario, if only I could see you, talk to you, one last time, so I could tell you how much I truly do love you..." she said.

Peach then proceeded to scoot dangerously close to the edge, a nearly 200 foot drop, and she was dangling her legs off of it. Mario knew he had to act, otherwise they would find Peach, dead from a fall.

Mario slowly made his way out of the bushes, and silently sat next to Peach, dangling his legs off as well, "So, how much do you love me?" he asked.

Peach looked up, and right at Mario, who was mere inches from her, she then screamed, "MARIO!"

Mario scooted closer to Peach, and pulled her in for a hug, "Peach, I'm so sorry you had to go through all of this.

Peach hesitantly, but gladly, accepted Mario's embrace. Not knowing what emotions to feel, she simply began to cry, "How are you here, I watched you get buried..." she said, "Are you a ghost?" she asked.

Mario laughed, "No I'm not a ghost, I'm real, I'm alive, and I'm right here..." he said, pulling Peach in tightly.

Peach returned this tightened embrace, in fact, she held so tightly, it was hard for Mario to breath.

"But, I watched you get buried, Luigi watched you die, there is records of your death, how are you here?" Peach asked.

Mario scratched the back of his head, "While, I'm here because of Bowser, as odd as that may seem..." he said, "Bowser sent me to an alternate time line, one where I die in the blast at your castle."

Peach thought for a moment, "Wait, so you're… a different Mario?" she asked.

"Well, as odd as it may sound, yeah I am..." Mario said.

Peach looked at Mario lovingly, "Mario, what happens in your time line then, if you aren't from here." she said.

Mario grabbed his glove and pulled it off, exposing his wedding band to Peach, "Well, this happens in my time line..." he said, "Happily ever after." Mario said with a smile.

Peach's eyes grew wide, "Oh my god, we're married in your timeline?" she asked.

Mario nodded, "Absolutely." he said

Peach cuddled with Mario even more, "It makes me happy to know, that somewhere, you and me are happy together…" she said.

Mario thought for a moment, "Peach, I'm so sorry that you've had to go through everything, and I hope this doesn't sound odd but… I was at the funeral, and I saw the pain in you, how badly the loss hurt you..." Mario said guiltily, "It made me feel so deeply sad, a strong sadness I've never had before."

Peach looked up into Mario, and her beautiful eyes caught a glimmer of the moonlight, and it reminded Mario of that night on Power Star Summit, before he had proposed.

Peach smiled, "Even though there has been some awful events that have happened recently, it fills me with such joy to know, that somewhere, sometime, you are there, and we are happy together." she said softly, "So please, don't feel guilty, it's not your fault at all..."

Mario smiled, "Peach, I'm gonna have to go soon, I have to find Bowser Jr. so I can return to my normal time." he said

Oddly, Peach seemed satisfied with this, "That's OK, because I think I've decided on something…" Peach said, slowly standing up, pulling Mario with her, "Mario please, find Bowser Jr. and do whatever it takes to get back home." she said, pulling Mario in for a hug.

Mario hugged her back, "Peach, I don't know if you've ever heard this before, but has anybody ever told you; you are so beautiful, smart, kind, and caring, it's unreal that you settled for me..." Mario said.

Peach smiled, "I didn't settle, I got a dream come true..." she said, letting go of the embrace, and walking towards the woods, "Mario, you will most likely not see me again, so go, evacuate town tonight, I've decided to disappear, and not look back..."

"But Peach, what about Daisy, and Luigi, and all of the Toads?" Mario asked.

Peach smiled, "I left a note for Luigi, he will surely find it, and tell everybody." she said, "So, with that, I go; I truly do love you Mario, and I hope you succeed on the journey back home, and with that, I bid you farewell..." Peach said, vanishing into the dark forest.

Mario was stunned by what had just happened, Peach just… vanished. So, Mario thought for a moment, she was unhappy with the marriage, and seeing Mario, even though it wasn't her Mario, had given her the courage to escape from a nightmare, that would otherwise never end. Mario then realized why Peach told him to evacuate, the queen is now MIA, so the kingdom would go into lock down.

With that thought, Mario quickly, but carefully, made his way out of town. He was incredibly stealthy, and was not even suspected by a single resident. After Mario made it out of the kingdom, he began his journey to Sarasaland, under the cover of night.

 **To the real world…**

Peach awoke to find everybody around her, passed out. They had all been drinking last night, and happened to fall asleep in the same room. Peach then smelled something wonderful, and left the room to investigate. She entered the kitchen, and saw Luigi, cooking breakfast.

"Good Morning Luigi!" Peach greeted as she sat down at a table, "What's on the menu?" she asked.

Luigi smiled, and turned around, "I knew that breakfast would wake you up..." Luigi said, finishing a few pancakes.

Peach noticed something different about Luigi, he was wearing a mask, and black cloths with a green handkerchief around his neck, "What's with the mask?" Peach asked with a small giggle.

Luigi smiled mischievously, "Oh, it's really nothing..." he said, "Anyway, would you care for some breakfast?" he asked, leaning on the table, closer to Peach than normal.

Peach thought for a moment, "Sure, I guess I could have something." she said.

Luigi quickly and skillfully began to prepare a plate of food for Peach, and then served it to her in a very elegant fashion, "There you go, you stunner." he said.

Peach was amazed with Luigi's precision and didn't fully hear Luigi's words, "What now?" she asked.

"Oh nothing," Luigi said, preparing food for himself, and sitting directly next to Peach, "Is it good?" he asked.

Peach stopped eating for a moment, and smiled at Luigi, "It's amazing Luigi, you're a great cook!" she said enthusiastically.

This made Luigi smile, "That's good, I knew you would like it." he said, continuing to eat, "So Peach, I wanted to ask you a few things…" Luigi said, setting his hand on top of Peach's hand.

Peach's head popped up, and she pulled on her hand away lightly, "Uh, what's up?" she asked, slightly nervously.

Luigi felt Peach pull away, and he tightened his grip, "I wanted to ask you about Mario..." he said.

Peach, blushed lightly, "What about him?" she said uncomfortably.

Luigi smiled, "He's gone now, so what are you going to do?" Luigi asked, "There must be another guy for you to chase..." Luigi hinted, looking Peach intensely in the eyes.

Peach realized something was wrong, "Luigi, what has gotten into you, you're with Daisy!" she said, attempting to yank her hand away again.

At that moment, they both heard footsteps coming toward the kitchen, and fast.

Luigi got very close, mere inches from Peach, "Don't talk about this..." he said softly, then he released Peach's hand.

The person got to the kitchen, it was Daisy, "Good morning you two!" she exclaimed, "I knew I smelled a Luigi breakfast!" she said, loading up her plate with food, and sitting across from Luigi.\

Luigi got up, and gave Daisy a kiss, "Good morning my dear." he said, "Enjoy your food." he said, walking away from the table.

Daisy looked at Luigi as he left, "He's a bit more formal this morning, eh?" Daisy asked, noticing a rather uncomfortable looking Peach, "Whoa, are you OK, you look like you're sick." Daisy said.

Peach shook her head, "Yeah I'm fine, just have a little hangover from last night..." she said.

Daisy shrugged and continued eating. After a few minutes, more people came down to breakfast, and they all began to enjoy breakfast together. Luigi came back into the room last, and he was wearing his standard overalls, green shirt, and a hat now. Luigi sat next to Daisy, and acted as if nothing had been said to Peach.

 **Hey guys, thanks for reading! I figured I would add a little twist for you… Mr. L! The whole idea was that Luigi snapped from Mario being gone, along with the drinking, and it just didn't sit well. So now, we get to find out, what's gonna happen to Mario? What's gonna happen to Luigi?**

 **Why was he getting so close to Peach? You'll find out, in due time… :)**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6: Home, Sweet Home!**

Mario had been walking through the night, and he had traveled as far as possible during that time. He knew that Sarasaland was a fair distance on foot, about 2 days travel time, but it didn't help that Mario was trekking through a desert to get there. The sun began to come up, so Mario found shelter under a fair sized tree, and sat on the side of it.

Mario looked down at himself, and he was impressed. "Damn, I've lost a little weight..." he said.

Even though it wasn't much, Mario could tell that he had dropped a few pounds for sure. He realized he hadn't eaten in the past few days, combined with a decent amount of walking, and he had lost just about 4 pounds.

Mario then began to hear sirens off in the distance, "Good luck out there Peach..." Mario wished, saying a small prayer.

Mario didn't do much during the day, he simply looked for water, and rested, as he did not want to travel in the desert heat.

 **To the real world…**

Peach and Daisy had cleared the table, cleaning up after everybody else. As Peach was scrubbing a plate, she looked at Daisy and sighed.

Daisy noticed, and broke the silence, "What's up with you?" she asked, "And don't say a hangover again, because I know you're a lightweight."

Peach thought for a moment, "It's about… Luigi…" Peach hesitated.

Daisy looked up instantly, "What about him?" she asked suspiciously.

Peach turned and looked at Daisy, "I don't know, he's just been a little clingy around me for some reason, and he keeps wearing the mask whenever he talks to me…" Peach said, "It's kind of freaky."

Daisy laughed, "He's probably just joking around with you, I know he likes to do that from time to time." Daisy replied.

After hearing Daisy's genuine laugh, Peach calmed down slightly, and pushed that idea to the back of her head, "Yeah, you're probably right." Peach said, forming a small smile.

Just then, Luigi walked into the kitchen, "Hey guys, we were about to start a round of Super Mario 3D World, you wanna join?" he asked, approaching Daisy, and hugging her.

Daisy hugged Luigi back, "Sure Luigi, that sounds like fun!" she said, walking out with Luigi.

Peach finished up her last dish, "I guess I'll play too!" she said, coming out with the other two.

All three of them walked out into the living area, with Daisy in front, Peach following Daisy, and Luigi behind Peach. As Peach was walking, she felt a sturdy slap on her backside.

She looked back at Luigi, blushing with a worried expression on her face, Luigi smiled and shrugged, "Sorry..." he said mischievously.

Peach's mind began to race, " _Oh god, something isn't right, this isn't Luigi..."_ she thought.

Once in the living room, Peach was chosen as player one, and handed the Game pad. Peach took a seat as far away from Luigi as possible, and began to play. As she played, she thought about the actions Luigi had taken, and how aggressive and forward Luigi was being with her. When it came around to selecting characters, Peach chose Mario.

Daisy sighed, "You miss him, don't you?" Daisy asked.

Peach dropped her head, "Yeah, I really do..." Peach replied.

Luigi then chose himself, Daisy chose Toad, and the game began. They all played until they came to a level in world two, and the Game pad was required to play it.

"What do I have to do with these fan platforms?" Peach asked.

"You have to blow into the mic." Daisy replied, "It will make them move."

Luigi chuckled, "Yeah, BLOW..." he emphasized.

Peach noticed Luigi had emphasized the word, and it must have made her snap. Peach threw the Game pad to the ground with tremendous force, and stomped over to Luigi. Without hesitation, she forcefully pushed him over in his chair, "What the fuck is wrong with you!" she screamed, "Why have you been hitting on me all the sudden?" she demanded.

Luigi's head smashed into the floor from Peach's push, and he must have blacked out for a second. When he opened his eyes, he saw Peach screaming at him for seemingly no reason. "Whoa Peach, what happened?" Luigi asked, clearly scared by her.

Peach stopped to look in his eyes for a moment, and she noticed that they looked different, they looked as she had remembered, not as they had looked for the past couple days.

Just as Peach stopped yelling, an angry Daisy came over and tackled Peach to the ground, "What do you think you're doing?" Daisy yelled in Peach's face.

Peach was angered by Daisy, but suppressed it, "Luigi has been acting strange, I've told you this, he's been acting like he wants to fuck me for the past few days!" Peach told Daisy, as calmly as she could.

Daisy had been such good friends with Peach for so long, that she could tell when Peach was being honest, and Peach had that look in her eye. So with that, Daisy's attention turned to Luigi.

"What have you been doing to Peach!?" Daisy yelled.

Luigi looked genuinely confused, "What do you mean, what have I been doing to her, I've been doing absolutely nothing..." Luigi responded.

Peach looked at Luigi with rage, "What are you talking about?" she said, "You just groped me when we left the kitchen!"

Luigi's eyes looked worried, "What, no I didn't, why would I do that, I'm married!" he said.

Daisy heard Peach, and instead of getting angry, she began to cry, "Luigi, how could you?" she asked.

Luigi was confused, "What are you talking about, I've never touched you like that!" he said.

Daisy got off of Peach and began to leave the room, "I can't believe you don't have enough respect for me, Mario, or Peach to do something like that..." Daisy said, walking upstairs to the room.

Jewel must have heard all of the commotion, as she came down into the living area.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, what in the world is happening down here?" she asked, approaching Luigi and Peach.

Luigi looked around, "How did I get here?" he asked, "Wasn't I just in bed?"

Jewel stopped for a moment and closed her eyes, "I sense dark magic in this room..." she said, coming closer to Luigi, "And you are the source..." she finished.

"What, how am I the source?" he asked, "I don't touch that shit!"

Jewel took Luigi's hand, and began to feel it, "I may be able to tell you the source, but I must read you first..." she said.

 **Far away…**

"Kamek!" Bowser screamed, slapping the Koopa in the back of it's head, "Get that god damned spell working again!" he said.

Kamek tried a few different things, "Sir, I can't get it back under control, we're going to have to wait!" he said.

Bowser grunted in frustration, "Fine, but if you fuck this up…"

"Yes, yes sir I know…" Kamek said nervously.

 **To Mario…**

Mario had been waiting all day for the temperature to cool off, and he was now determined to get to Sarasaland. Mario finished any final packing he needed to do, and set off on his path.

He trekked through the night, into the day, not letting anything stop his steady, yet fast, pace there. After walking for an entire day and a half, Mario could see Daisy's kingdom, and it was just barely visible this late in the day. He had made good time due to his fast pace, and could reach the kingdom tonight.

"I'm so close..." Mario said, beginning a steady jog for the kingdom.

As he approached the walls, excitement ran through his body, every step he took was closer to him finding Bowser Jr., and one step closer to seeing Peach, Luigi, and Daisy again.

Mario the approached the walls of the kingdom, and walked to the entrance. The people here most likely did not know that Mario had died, as news traveled rather slowly from The Mushroom Kingdom to Sarasaland.

As Mario approached the gates, some guards instantly recognized him. "Mario, hero of the Mushroom Kingdom, how is this evening?" they asked him, quickly performing required security checks.

Mario complied with the guards, "Everything is going fine, how about you?" Mario replied.

The guard who was checking Mario smiled, "Ah, everything here is going rather well, not to many mishaps recently." he said, "So, what brings you here?" he asked.

Mario had to think of something, and fast, "Well, you see, there is this new thing..." he said, "And you can only get it here, it doesn't come to The Mushroom Kingdom for a little while, so I wanted to come and get one early..." Mario finished, hoping he had convinced the guards.

The guard the opened the gate, "Oh, that is interesting, so then, what is this new thing?" he asked.

Mario didn't expect this question, "Oh uh, well..." he hesitated, "It's called a… Super Sapling?" Mario said, hoping the guard didn't notice the hesitation.

The guard nodded, before gesturing Mario to enter, "Ah, that is very nice, anyway, I hope you find what you seek, and have a good night Mr. Mario."

Mario nodded at the guard, and entered, "Have a good night sir." he said, before hastily making his way to the castle.

The guard then took his post again, and took a short nap. He was awoken about fifteen minutes later, by a toad who was an official messenger from The Mushroom Kingdom.

"Sir, there is a message that I need to inform you of, Mario, hero of The Mushroom Kingdom, has died to Bowser's hands." he said.

The guard looked shocked, "But I just let Mario into the kingdom..." he said.

The toad shook his head, "He was buried a couple days ago, that must have been an impostor." he said.

The guard then dropped everything he was doing, and grabbed an emergency phone, "Attention all officers of Sarasaland, there has been a breach in security..." he said.

The guard then described exactly what Mario looked like, and told every officer to search.

 **Back to Mario…**

Mario had just made it to Daisy's castle, and he used a secret entrance that she had taught him about in order to enter the castle. He had followed the entrance, and was now in the main foyer. It was completely dark, and there were guards patrolling with flash lights.

Suddenly, a message aired over a loudspeaker, "Attention all soldiers, an intruder has entered the kingdom, keep watch, until further notice, and to unfamiliar looking faces, kill on sight." the loudspeaker said.

It then proceeded to give a definition of what Mario looked like, and then went quiet. There was some small talk among the guards, until the last of the confusion was cleared up, and then they continued their watch.

Mario continued to cautiously search around the castle, being very careful not to disturb any of the guards. He searched every room that he could find, and Bowser Jr. hadn't appeared yet. After a few hours of searching, he made his way around to the final hall, and the final stretch of rooms.

"I hope he's still here..." Mario said quietly to himself.

He began his final search, going to the different bedrooms, and guest areas. He approached the final door, a bathroom, and took a deep breath, it was this or bust. Mario slowly turned the door knob, and opened the door. He peeked inside, and his spirits rose with what he saw. Bowser Jr. was sitting on the toilet, fast asleep.

Mario began to slowly approach Bowser Jr. and then, he grabbed him. Bowser Jr. woke instantly, "What, who, Mario!?" he yelled, looking at Mario in shock.

Mario slapped Bowser Jr. and shushed him, "Be quiet, the guards will hear you!" he said, "Now, your dad gave you something, didn't he, something that effects me."

Bowser Jr. lowered his tone, "Yeah, what's it to ya though?" he asked.

"You have to give it to me, there will be horrible consequences if you don't!" Mario said angrily.

Bowser Jr. thought for a moment, "How can I trust you, my dads hated you for years!" he said.

"Didn't you watch me get blown to bits from that blast?" Mario questioned, "Well, I'm not actually _your_ Mario..."

"What do you mean, not my Mario, there's only one of you!" Bowser Jr. retorted.

Mario thought for a moment, "The thing your dad gave you, it will allow me to go forward in time, back to my time, because I'm from a different place." Mario explained, "I'm from a place where your dad rules the entire Mushroom Kingdom, and he is married to Peach."

Bowser Jr. lit up at this lie, "Wait, really!?" he said in awe, "Am I there too?"

Mario nodded, "Yep, you are, so that's why it's important to give me that, because otherwise your dads empire may not continue..." Mario said, hoping Bowser Jr. believed him.

Bowser Jr. thought for a moment, "Fine, here you go..." Bowser Jr. said, handing Mario a potion, "But you have to promise that you'll help my dad out in his empire, understand?" he demanded.

Mario quickly popped the cork, and nodded at Bowser Jr. "Yep, sure, that's fine..." he said, now starting to chug the liquid inside.

As soon as he finished the liquid, he felt a warmth inside of him, "So long sucker!" Mario said, light now engulfing him.

Mario flashed through old memories, he saw what had happened while he was gone, and then it all just stopped, and he landed on a cold tile floor.

 **To the real world…**

After Luigi was diagnosed as being cursed with dark magic, Daisy and him got an express flight home. They wanted to get Luigi better ASAP. Luigi was sent to a doctor, and Daisy went home to her castle. She decided to get into the shower, and clean herself up a little.

As she was showering, she heard sounds outside of the shower, they sounds like ripples almost. And then, a large thud was heard outside of the shower.

Daisy pulled back the curtain to see what had made the noise, "MARIO!" she yelled, seeing the short red plumber, in a daze, laying on her floor.

She got out of the shower, and began to help the very loopy Mario. He then looked at her, and laughed, "Heh, boobs…" he said, glancing quickly at Daisy's chest, and then passing out.

Daisy blushed, and then wrapped herself in a towel, and went to get help. In just a few moments, guards had arrived to take Mario away, on an express flight back to the Mushroom Kingdom. 

Daisy finished her shower, and quickly got on the phone, and called Peach, "Hey Peach, I got some news for ya." she said.

"What's up, what happened now?" Peach asked.

Daisy laughed, "Well, Mario fell into my bathroom, while I was in the shower..." she said.

"Wait, he fell into?" Peach asked.

"Yeah, he fell into my bathroom, just out of nowhere..." she said.

Peach thought for a moment, "Well he must have found Bowser Jr. then..." she said, "But what was Bowser Jr. doing in your bathroom?"

Daisy shuddered at that thought, "Oh boy, I don't know what Bowser Jr. would be in here for..." she said, "Anyway, I sent Mario on an express flight to the Mushroom Kingdom, so he should be there in a few hours."

Peach's attitude was instantly fixed, "Oh Daisy thank you, I don't even know what to do to repay you..." Peach said.

"Eh, I'm sure you would do the same if Luigi was in this situation." she said, "So don't sweat it."

Peach and Daisy talked for a little while longer, and eventually said goodbye and got off the phone. Peach went to the main foyer and waited for Mario to arrive, even though she would be there for a few hours.

Mario woke up on the plane, just as the flight was about to land, "Where am I?" he asked a toad.

The toad looked at him, "You are on an express flight from Sarasaland to The Mushroom Kingdom, and we are just about to arrive." he said with a smile, "There is no need for any form of payment or tip, that is already covered by Queen Daisy."

Mario noticed the word Queen, "Wait, Queen Daisy?" he asked.

"Yes sir, Queen Daisy and King Luigi!" he said.

Mario sighed in relief, "I'm back..." he said quietly.

The plane then landed a few minutes later, and Mario got off. Since he was out cold for most of the plane ride, a few toads escorted Mario back to the castle for safety purposes.

As they arrived at the castle, a few toads ran ahead to hold the door for Mario, "Have a good night King Mario." they said, letting him into the castle.

"You as well." Mario replied to the toads, as they shut the door behind him.

Mario looked around for a moment, and the first thing his eyes fell upon was his beloved Peach.

"Peach!" Mario said, breaking into tears as he ran to her.

"Mario!" Peach said, doing the same.

The two lovers embraced in a fierce hug, and many passionate kisses were shared.

"Peach, I can't even explain how much I missed you..." Mario said, embracing Peach tightly.

"Oh Mario, it's OK, I know exactly how you feel..." Peach said, completely engulfed by emotions.

Mario and Peach made their way upstairs to the master bedroom, and sat on the bed. They began to cuddle together, and share small kisses here and there.

"Peach, I'm so sorry, it was terrible to live each day without you." Mario told Peach quietly.

Peach smiled, and pulled Mario closer, "It's OK now Mario, I thought I was never going to see you again, I was ready to give up, and now you're finally home..." she whispered softly.

 **Hey guys, sorry that this one took a little while to get out, I was pretty busy, and I didn't get much time to write. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy, and I'll see you in the next one!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey guys, just figured I would warn you, LEMONS INBOUND! So, now that you know about the lemony goodness that awaits, either continue, or turn away, as this is not appropriate for some people. ENJOY!**

 **Chapter 7: The Walk In…**

Mario and Peach were in bed, snuggling with each other, and they had been for the past hour. In that time, Mario had told Peach about all of the details of his adventures, and how much he missed her.

"And then I ended up back here, with you in my arms..." Mario said, tightening his snug grip on Peach.

Peach smiled, and nestled her way deeper into Mario's warm embrace, "I love you so much..." she whispered.

This brought a smile onto both of their faces, and they continued to cuddle, just enjoying each others presence, for a little while longer. After a few more minutes, Peach spoke again.

"Mario?" she asked softly.

"Yes my love?" he replied.

"I don't mean for this to sound sudden or anything, but I really want you..." Peach said longingly

Mario knew what she meant, and he was ready to please her any time she desired, "No, it's not sudden, I missed you too, I feel just the same..." Mario said, running his hands gently along her body.

Peach thought for a moment, "Mario, I've stopped taking birth control a little while ago, so you might want some protection… unless you want to try..." Peach said.

Mario's eyes lit up, "Peach, I would love to try to have a child, is that OK with you?" he asked.

Peach wasn't expecting this, and was pleasantly surprised by Mario's answer, "Oh Mario, of course, I really want to be a mother..." she said.

With both of them on board, Mario and Peach now began their foreplay. Mario took his gloves off, and began to run his hands softly across Peach's body, touching all of the right places, at all the right times. Peach smiled as he did this, she always loved Mario's gentle, loving touch. Mario then began to gently remove Peach's outer layers of clothing, being careful to not make any hasty actions on her. Peach was turned on by Mario's kind loving actions, and she put her hand on his crotch and began to massage gently.

Eventually, Mario came down to Peach's bra, and Peach giggled, "It's been a little bit since you've done this, do you remember how to take it off?" Peach asked in a very sexy and seductive tone.

Mario smiled at Peach, "I'll take a shot at it..." he said, attempting to undo her bra.

After fidgeting around for a few moments, Peach grew impatient, "Here, I'll help you..." she said with a giggle, unlatching her bra, and removing it for Mario.

Mario hadn't seen Peach's bare chest for some time now, and every time he had, it was still just as beautiful as before. Mario then began to lightly fondle Peach's D-cup breasts. With every movement, and light rub, he earned a whimper from Peach.

Peach then began to undo Mario's overalls, "My turn now..." she said.

Peach was able to easily take off Mario's overalls, which unveiled Mario's, still covered, erect member.

Peach giggled softly, "Excited already I see?" she said.

Mario blushed and scratched that back of his head, "Well if you weren't so damn beautiful..." he said jokingly.

Peach then took Mario's shirt off, along with his hat, and tossed it to the side. She began to lick Mario's covered member, though his boxers.

Mario breathed out lightly every time Peach's warm tongue touched, "You're such a tease..." he giggled.

Peach smiled seductively, "I know, that's the point..." she said, continuing her previous actions.

After a few moments, Mario grew impatient, and he suddenly picked Peach up, earning a squeal and a few giggles from her, "So you think it's funny to tease me?" he asked with a smile on his face.

Peach nodded, "So what are you gonna do to me then?" she asked in a curious voice.

"You'll see..." Mario said, setting Peach down on the bed.

He then proceeded to bring his head down to her crotch, and lightly lick the outside of her panties.

Peach began to moan, "You're mean to me..." she said.

Mario laughed, "You shouldn't tease me next time..." he said.

Mario then removed Peach's panties, and began to lightly rub her clit. After a few seconds of this, Mario began to gently insert a finger into her warmth, earning a loud moan from her.

"Mario..." Peach moaned, "I can't take it anymore, please, I want you so bad..." she said.

Mario smiled, "Are you sure?" he teased.

"Yes I'm sure!" Peach said, knowing he was teasing her, "Please, its been far too long without you..." she said, pulling Mario's underwear down, exposing his fully erect member.

She lined herself up with Mario, and nodded at him. Mario began to slowly insert himself, clearly to the enjoyment of Peach, who was now moaning loudly. Mario began to thrust slowly, picking up his pace as time passed. As he picked up his pace, he looked at Peach to see how she was doing, and he noticed that she had a daze of pure bliss, exactly like the one she had the first time they had made love.

After a few minutes of passionate love making, Mario and Peach both could feel their orgasms approaching, "Peach, I'm about too..." Mario said.

Peach interrupted Mario, "I am too, do it inside me!" she moaned.

Mario continued thrusting hard for a few more seconds, until he felt himself release, and he shot his seed deep into Peach's womb. When Peach felt Mario release inside her, she came, releasing fluids all over herself, Mario, and the bed.

Mario and Peach were both breathing heavily, and staring deeply into each other's eyes, when suddenly, their door crashed open.

Mario quickly threw a blanket over him and his lover, and then looked at the intruder.

"Good evening, love birds!" Luigi said, walking into the room.

Mario became instantly enraged, "Luigi, what the fuck, get your stupid green ass out of my god damned room!" he yelled.

Luigi smiled, "I don't think you should talk to me like that Mr. bitch, you don't know who you're dealing with..."

Peach recognized Luigi's clothing, he was, once again, wearing a black mask, black suit, and had a green handkerchief around his neck.

Luigi then began to walk closer to Mario and Peach, "You know, I wouldn't have found you if it wasn't for her, and her loud ass squealing, so I guess I can thank you for leading me here." he said.

"Luigi!" Mario barked, "I know you're my brother, but don't think for a god damn minute that you can take one more step closer, and not get your ass beat..." Mario said angrily.

Luigi laughed, "Who said I would get my ass beat, what if it's the other way around?" he taunted.

Mario growled at Luigi, and began to get off the bed, before Peach grabbed his arm, "Mario, no don't do it, I don't want you guys to fight!" she said.

"Yeah Mario, don't do it, because even your wife knows you'll lose, you pussy ass bitch." Luigi continued to taunt.

Mario yanked his arm away from Peach, and quickly put his cloths back on, "OK you son of a bitch, let's see what your cocky green ass can muster, Mr. Player Two." Mario said, readying for a fight.

Luigi was caught off guard by Mario's insult, "Oh really, so we took it there huh?" Luigi asked.

Mario nodded, "You bet your ass, now come fight me like a man if you're so big and tough now..." Mario growled.

Luigi readied a fighting stance, and the two brothers began to brawl.

Mario landed the first good shot, a solid right hook to the cheek. Luigi followed up with a powerful uppercut. Both brothers continued to land solid hits on one another, however, even in Luigi's new form, his weakness began to show through a little and Mario began to dominate the fight. After about a minute or so of constant fighting, Luigi pushed Mario back, and both brothers were worn out. Mario was quick to return to a fighting pose.

"Is that all you've got?" Mario taunted.

Luigi, wasn't so fast to recover, "Try me..." he said weakly.

Mario began to walk forward to Luigi again, when Luigi suddenly passed out. Mario's anger instantly broke, and he ran over to his injured brother.

"Luigi!" he yelled, dropping to his knees to aid his brother.

Luigi began to open his eyes, "Oh… ow… what, where am I?" he asked, seeing Mario as he woke up.

"Luigi, what the hell is wrong with you!" Mario yelled.

Luigi looked up at Mario, "What do you mean, I was asleep, and I just ended up here..." he replied.

"No, you just broke into my bedroom and decided to fucking fight me, what were you thinking?" Mario continued.

Luigi thought hard for a moment, "Bro, I seriously don't know what you're talking about, I was sleeping with Daisy right next to me, and next thing I know, I'm here!"

Mario saw a genuine look of confusion in Luigi's eyes, "Bro, I think something is wrong, how do you not remember what just happened?"

Peach gasped when she heard this, "Mario!" she yelled, "Luigi was put under a spell, we don't know how, but he was!" Peach said.

Mario looked at Peach in a confused expression, "Who did it?" he asked.

Peach thought for a moment, "Well, Bowser is the most likely subject..." Peach said, "But what I'm concerned with is how he is still acting up, we sent him to a doctor to get that taken care of!"

Mario thought for a moment, "Well, I guess we have to cut the head off of the snake on this one..." he said, pulling Luigi up off the floor.

Peach instantly turned the idea down, "No Mario, look what happened the last time you confronted Bowser, what if he pulls something worse?" she asked.

Mario sighed, "Well, what do you suggest in place of that idea then?" he asked.

Peach thought, and she got an idea, "Mario, Bowser had never had this kind of magic in the past..."

"And…?" Mario questioned.

"Well, how could he just get this magic now, if he couldn't do it in the past?" she continued.

"He borrowed it!" Luigi blurted.

"Exactly!" Peach exclaimed, "So we have to find whoever gave the magic to Bowser!"

Mario thought for a moment, "OK, so that's all fine and dandy, but who hates Luigi aside from Bowser?" he asked.

The group thought for a moment, when suddenly, Luigi responded, "King Boo..." Luigi said, "He is the only other one who hates me!"

"Didn't you put him into a painting though?" Mario asked.

"Yeah, but King Boo is crafty, he was able to free himself before, so why not now?" Luigi replied.

Mario thought for a moment, "True..." he said, "But where can we possibly find a ghost, who we haven't seen in literal years..."

"I have a couple theories…" Luigi said.

"What are they?" Mario asked.

Luigi shook his head, "Meet me and Daisy in Sarasaland tomorrow, I'll tell you." Luigi said, "I should just get going, I'm so sorry for walking in during your…" Luigi noticed Peach was naked under her covers, "Private time…"

Mario gave Luigi a hug, "OK, be safe Weeg, and I'll see you tomorrow." Mario said, "Just please, attempt to keep 'Mr. L' under control..."

Luigi hugged Mario back, "I will, I promise, and I'm so sorry for busting in here."

Mario then ordered an express flight to Sarasaland for Luigi. Luigi waved goodbye to Peach, Mario, and the toads, and the boarded the plane. Mario and Peach then walked back to their room.

"Peach?" Mario asked, crawling under his sheets.

"Yes?" Peach asked, cuddling up to Mario.

"I'm sorry about the 'incident' earlier, I can't believe that our time was interrupted by some dark magic shit." Mario replied.

Peach smiled, "Well, I enjoyed it… for the time we did have… so maybe tomorrow?" Peach asked.

Mario smiled back, "I'm glad you enjoyed it, despite the mishap." he said, "And you already know that I'm here for you, anytime you need me."

Peach kissed Mario passionately, "I love you so much, thank you for being there..." she said

 **The next morning…**

Mario woke up, and was surprised to find Peach had already waken up, and was out of bed.

"Good morning!" Peach said in a fun and bubbly tone, "I packed your stuff for you, and ordered a flight, we just have to get ready, and leave whenever!"

Mario rubbed his eyes and laughed, "You're awfully ready to go this morning, what's up?" Mario asked.

Peach smiled in return, "I'm excited to travel with you!" she said.

Mario's heart sank, "Peach, are you sure that's a great idea, I mean, the last thing I want is for you to get hurt, and we might be going to some shady ass places..."

Peach nodded, "I'm sure it's fine, plus, I don't wanna lose you again..." she explained, then kissing Mario lightly on the cheek, "Besides, every captain needs a crew, right?"

Mario hesitantly agreed to let Peach come with him. He then began to get ready, and his decision made its way around his thoughts. It wasn't that Peach was weak or anything, Mario simply just loved her so much, that he wouldn't be able to handle losing her. He valued her life at a much higher priority than his own, and having something happen to her would be devastating.

After Mario got ready, he grabbed his bag that Peach had packed for him, ate a quick breakfast, and then left for the flight. The flight was fast, and they arrived in Sarasaland within a few hours. They got off of the plane, and they were greeted by Daisy and Luigi.

"Hey guys, how's a going?" Mario asked.

"Oh it's all good, and Luigi has managed to keep control for the time being." Daisy replied.

"Oh, I hope that he gets better..." Peach said.

Daisy nodded, "Yeah, I hope he stops turning into 'that', because it kind of scares me..."

Luigi led the way into the castle, and then into a meeting room. A servant then entered the room, and he had a notepad.

"King Luigi, Queen Daisy, may I get you something to drink?" the servant asked.

Luigi thought, "I'll just have an ice water." Luigi replied.

"And I'll have a glass of red wine." Daisy said.

The servant took note, and then walked over to Mario and Peach.

"King Mario, Queen Peach, may I get you something to drink as well?" he asked

Mario smiled, "Sure, I'll have a Coke." he replied.

"I'll have whatever Daisy got, that sounds good." Peach said.

The servant took note, nodded, and left.

Luigi folded his hands on the table, "So, I have a few ideas of where King Boo could be hiding out, but I'm not sure about anything, so you would be taking a risk by doing this, is that OK?" Luigi asked.

Mario nodded, "I'm sure, whatever it takes to fix you bro." he replied.

Luigi smiled, "OK, good." he said, "So, my first idea, pretty plain, but it could work, I think he could be back at E. Gadd's old lab, remember, the first mansion?" Luigi said.

Mario thought back for a moment, and then shuddered, "Oh yeah, that creepy ass place..." he said, "So what, we just have to find him or something?" Mario asked.

Luigi nodded, "Bingo!" he said, "All you have to do is find him, and attempt to get the magic to fix this."

Mario took a mental note, "OK, what's the next idea?" he asked.

"Well, next idea would be The Forest of Illusion, I mean, what other place would a ghost hang out, it's all trippy as shit, and it will screw around with you." Luigi said.

Mario took another note, "So that's two, anymore ideas?" he asked

Luigi thought for a second, "I've saved this one for last, because it's the worst case scenario..." he said.

Mario waited for a moment for Luigi to continue, "Well, what is it then?" he asked.

Luigi hesitated, "Well, he could be living safely with Bowser, and that would be awful..." he replied.

Mario cringed lightly, "Oh boy, I hope it's not that..." Mario said.

Luigi nodded, "Yeah, but all we can do is hope right now..." he said.

All of the friends talked about their first location to visit. After a few minutes of debating, they agreed that the first place they visit would be the old lab that E. Gadd used to own. Mario and Peach then gathered their things, and left. Mario gave one final wave to Luigi and Daisy, before turning around and continuing his journey.

Mario and Peach walked silently for a short while, until they eventually came upon a forest that led to the mansion. They stopped at the entrance, and Mario suddenly piped up, "Peach..." he said.

Peach turned and smiled at Mario, "Yes dear?" she asked.

Mario sighed, "This place can be odd sometimes, so, please be careful, and stay close to me..." he said.

Peach gave Mario a hug, and a quick yet passionate kiss, "Don't worry, I'll be safe..." she said, grabbing Mario's hand.

Mario then firmly grasped Peach's hand in return, and they then entered the forest. They walked for a little while, being quiet and careful of their surroundings. The forest then began to get slightly foggy, and they slowed down to keep on the trail.

"Do you hear that?" Peach asked Mario quietly.

"Hear what?" he replied.

"Listen..." Peach said, cupping her hand next to her ear.

They both listened for a moment, and they heard something that sounded like footsteps. Multiple pairs of footsteps.

The noises began to get closer, and within just a few seconds, the noises surrounded them. Suddenly, an arrow shot out of a bush, and luckily, Mario had moved just enough, causing the arrow to take off only his hat, and nothing else. Mario then quickly ducked under the fog.

"Mario, are you OK?" Peach asked, instantly falling to her knees.

Then from behind, Peach heard something swinging through the air. She turned her head to look, and saw a shy guy. The shy guy swiped down, and snatched her crown.

Mario pulled Peach under the fog, and he pulled her very close, "Stay low, and stay quiet, if they can't see us, they might leave..." he whispered.

Mario and Peach stayed very quiet, but the noises didn't stop, in fact, they came closer. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of waiting, Mario felt something sharp poke his back, and it poked him rather hard.

"Ouch!" Mario said, not expecting the sudden shock.

As soon as he yelled that, he heard the foot steps come closer to him, and they began to surround him.

Mario had to think of something quick, "Do you trust me?" Mario asked Peach, as he quickly thought of something.

"With my life, like always my love..." Peach replied.

Mario then nodded, and quickly lifted Peach bridal style above the fog. He slipped off one of his shoes, and flung it at a shy guy.

"SO LONG SUCKERS!" Mario yelled as he ran away.

Even just the few seconds, that Mario bought by tossing his shoe, were life saving. He was sprinting as fast as he could, and the shy guys were keeping up.

"Damn you guys are fast little midgets!" he said, attempting to quicken his pace.

After a few minutes of running, Mario was just about to give out, and suddenly, the shy guys stopped. And a few seconds after that, Mario had stopped too. But this wasn't an ordinary stop, no, he had stopped instantly, and he now felt as if he weighed nothing. Everything happened in slow motion, after all, just a moment ago, he had been running, and now he was weightless, almost as if… he was suspended in mid air…

Mario felt himself begin to plummet, and he did the only thing he could, protect Peach. He held Peach at an angle, an angle that would allow him to cushion her fall, however, this was at the risk of serious injury, or even death, to himself.

The lovers fell about twenty feet, and just as they were about to hit the ground, Peach trusted herself into Mario, and changed the angle of the fall slightly, so he would not received the full impact of the fall. As soon as they hit the ground, they were both out cold.

 **To Sarasaland, about a day later…**

"Daisy, do you think Mario should have alerted me by now?" Luigi asked.

Daisy thought for a moment, "It has been a while, he should be at the mansion by now..." she said, "Maybe you should see if he responds." Daisy said as she handed Luigi a satellite phone.

Luigi attempted to call Mario and Peach both, multiple times, to no avail. He called both of them three times, and he became more worried each time. "Shit, nobody is answering, that's not like them..." Luigi said.

Daisy called a servant, "Go get a search team, were going to search the route that they took." Daisy said.

The servant nodded, and went to get a search party. Within a few minutes, the search party arrived, and Daisy instructed them on what to do. She handed each member a map, "Search this route, this is where they should be, and then search a thousand feet on either side of this route, OK?" Daisy said.

The captain of the team nodded, "Yes my queen." he said.

The team then left, and took the same route as Mario and Peach.

"I hope their OK..." Luigi said to Daisy.

"I'm sure they are, Peach is surprisingly resilient, and I'm sure you've lived with Mario long enough to know about him." Daisy said, attempting to hide a feeling of distress.

"Yeah, you're right..." Luigi replied.

 **To the Search Party…**

One member was searching slightly off the route, when he found something. "Captain, come here, you might want to see this!" he yelled.

The captain came over, and the member pointed at the scene in front of him, "This might not be good..." he said.

The captain only looked once at the scene, and he knew something went very wrong. He saw Peach's crown on the ground, halfway buried. He saw Mario's hat, stuck to a tree with an arrow, along with one of Mario's shoes, tossed in a seemingly random direction. Finally, he saw a sharp rock, and a trail of blood leading from the sharp rock, into the dense dark forest.

 **Crap Man! This week has been busy as hell! I was going all over the place, to a bunch of stores and shit, so I'm sorry it has been a rather inactive week! Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this extra long chapter, as it's about 4k words. See you in the next one!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey guys, back for chapter 8, enjoy!**

 **Chapter 8: Back from the Dead…**

Mario saw a bright light, in the midst of a deep black void, and began walking towards it. As he got closer, he heard voices, voices that were so beautiful, so harmonized, so… perfect.

"Who's there?" he asked, continuing his way closer to the light.

After he said that, the voices suddenly stopped, and a dark figure appeared in front of the light.

"You're not ready yet..." the figure told Mario.

"What, not ready?" Mario asked, "Who are you?"

The figure shook its head, "You'll find out one day, until then, you are not ready." it said.

With those words, Mario found himself unable to speak, and a strong force was pulling him backwards. He stayed in position for a moment, but after just a few seconds, the force became too strong, and it ripped him away from the light.

As Mario flew down the deep dark abyss, another smaller figure approached the larger one, "Sir, he has had so many chances, do you not think we should pass him on?" the smaller figure asked.

The larger figure shook his head, "No, he is not ready to pass yet, the whole kingdom needs him, his brother, his wife, his friends, his unborn child, they all need him." he said, "His brother is a danger to the world without him, Mario keeps him stable, without Mario, he is very easily influenced by dark magic."

"But sir, he has had his fair share of chances, do you not think that enough is enough?" the smaller figure asked.

The large figure grew suddenly angry, "Enough, thou doth not question me!" the figure yelled, "He will survive until I believe his game is over, understood?"

The smaller figure began to walk away, "Yes sir..."

The larger figure sighed, "We wish you the best of luck Mario, from the people of Over-there." he said.

 **To Mario…**

After falling for a few seconds, Mario felt himself hit the ground, and his eyes flew open. Mario quickly sat up and looked around. He felt an intense pain in his right side, and saw a small puddle of blood at his shoe less foot. He inspected the wound, and he saw a rather deep gash in the bottom of his foot. He then looked over at Peach.

Mario scooted over to her, and began to shake her lightly, "Peach, Peach, wake up!" he said.

Rain began to fall, and he knew Mario knew he could not wait outside. He then took a deep breath, which killed his rib cage, and stood up. The pain from the fall, along with the pain from his ribs and foot were almost too much, but he worked through it. He scooped Peach up bridal style, began to walk away, and sheltered her from the rain, with his body.

After a few minutes of walking, the rain began to pick up, and visibility lessened. He began to search more frantically for a shelter, and eventually, he found a small indent in a rock face. The indent was only about six feet deep, eight feet wide, and it wasn't elevated very far off the ground. But, with the rain picking up like this, and the night approaching, he didn't have much of a choice. Mario walked into the small indent, and set Peach down behind him. He snuggled up with her, and faced his back towards the outside. After that, he just waited.

About an hour or so later, Peach's eyes fluttered open, and the first sight she saw was Mario, lovingly embracing her in his warm arms. "Mario?" Peach asked.

Peach's voice instantly woke Mario from his short nap, "Peach, are you OK?" he asked quietly.

As soon as he asked that question, Peach realized what had happened earlier that day. She saw the darkness of the night beginning to set in, the pouring rain outside, and the intense pain she felt in her side.

Peach then clutched her ribs, "Mario, this hurts so much, what happened?" she asked.

Mario cuddled with Peach more, in attempt to make her feel more comfortable. "We fell off of a cliff when we were running from the shy guys, and after I woke up, I looked around for a shelter for us." Mario whispered in a calming tone.

The memory came back to her now, the shy guys, running away, bumping Mario to the side lightly to prevent his death. Peach then looked around, and in the dim light, she saw a small stream of blood coming from Mario's foot.

"Mario, what did you do?" Peach asked in a concerned tone.

Mario looked at his foot, "Must have cut it when I was running, because it was like that when I woke up."

"Mario, you could die of an infection!" Peach exclaimed.

Mario shrugged, "It will probably be OK." he said, "All that matters is that you're here with me."

Peach pulled away from Mario, and ripped a piece off of her dress, "You won't be here with me if you die of an infection!" Peach said, wrapping the torn clothing around Mario's foot.

Mario sighed, and let Peach do what she needed to.

After a few minutes, Peach backed away from Mario's foot, and then laid back down next to him. Mario looked down at his foot, and wiggled it lightly, "Is it all better?" Mario asked in a baby-like tone, attempting to joke with Peach.

Peach smiled, "Yes honey, it's all better, now please get some rest..." she said, snuggling back up to Mario, getting very close again.

Mario and Peach cuddled up, and attempted to get some sleep. They were both cold, hungry, and injured, but nothing else mattered, as they had each other.

 **Eight hours later…**

Mario woke up first, and he waited for Peach to wake up as well. In a few minutes, Peach woke up as well, and the two lovers spent a moment starring into each others eyes.

"Mario, just in case we don't make it out..." Peach said.

Mario interrupted her, "We will make it out..." he corrected, "But go on..."

Peach smiled, "I just wanted you to know, I love you so much..." she said quietly.

Mario tightly embraced Peach for a moment, before letting go of her, and standing up. He looked outside of the small cave they had taken shelter in, so he could see the weather outside.

It was foggy, cloudy, and wet, but the rain must have stopped last night. Mario could not see the sun, due to the fog and the valley he was in, but he knew morning was present, as a faint glow radiated from above the cliff faces.

Peach stood up a few seconds after Mario, "So, what do we do now?" Peach asked.

Mario thought, he could stay put, but that may risk wild animals, water shortage, or starvation. "We should leave here, we need to get back to the kingdom, and if it takes a little while, we need to find some water."

Peach nodded in understanding, "Well then, lead the way." Peach said, "I was raised in a royal family, so survival is not my greatest aspect." Peach finished.

Mario nodded, and grabbed Peach's hand. He stood still and watched the sky for a little while, waiting for the world to get lighter, and he was enjoying his time with Peach.

After a short while of waiting for the sun to rise, Mario and Peach began their journey back to the kingdom, hoping that they would not get lost…

 **To Sarasaland…**

The sun rose in Sarasaland, and Luigi was watching out of the window of his room, near the top of the castle. He had not slept last night, as he had been thinking about Mario and Peach. He and Daisy had sent a search crew out after them, and Luigi should be hearing back from them any minute.

Suddenly, a phone began to ring, "Speak of the devil..." Luigi said as he picked up the phone, "Hello, Luigi, King of Sarasaland speaking, how may I help you?" he asked.

"King Luigi, this is Captain Toad of the search party you sent out, and I now have all of the information to report." Captain Toad said.

Luigi began to get nervous, Captain Toad could say anything right now, "OK, please do tell." Luigi said.

Captain Toad paused for a second, and Luigi heard pages being turned as Captain Toad looked through his notes. "We arrived yesterday evening around six PM, and we found a few key clues..." he explained, "These key clues were; Mario's hat, stuck to a tree via an arrow, Peach's half buried crown, one of, who we can assume, Mario's shoes, and a blood trail leading into the woods."

The word blood made Luigi nervous, "Oh, hmm, did you find any recent evidence?" Luigi asked.

"I am getting to that sir." Captain Toad said, "Anyway, we followed the trail of blood, and came to a cliff, upon further inspection of that cliff, and the ground below, we could not find any evidence of Mario and Peach, as it was most likely washed away by the rain."

"So is that all?" Luigi asked.

Captain Toad sighed, "I'm afraid so sir, there just wasn't much to go off of..." he said, "And the drop from the cliff was pretty high, so it may not be a stretch to say they might have died..."

"No no no… their not dead, they can't be dead, it's Mario and Peach!" Luigi exclaimed, tears now forming in his eyes.

Captain Toad hesitated, "Sir, you would have to be extraordinarily lucky, or saved by an outside force to survive a jump like that, especially if you were injured." Captain Toad explained, "So I'm afraid that the only logical thing to do is to pronounce them dead, as somebody was injured, and they took a very dangerous fall."

Luigi took a minute to accept the news, and let it all sink in. Just a few days ago, Mario had returned from his time traveling adventure with Bowser's shenanigans, and now both him, and his beloved wife Peach, they were now both gone, plausibly forever based on some evidence.

After a few minutes, Luigi shook his head to clear the thoughts, and began to speak to Captain Toad again.

"OK Captain Toad, you have done your job, come back to Sarasaland for your payment..." Luigi said, beginning to choke up, "Thank you, and goodbye..." he finished.

"Thank you so very much sir, and I am so very sorry for your loss, it is truly a shame..." Captain Toad said, "Anyway, have a good day, my king."

A now misty eyed Luigi hung up the phone, and began to cry helplessly while staring out he window. After a few minutes of crying, Daisy walked up behind Luigi, and began to speak.

"Oh Luigi, what's wrong?" she asked, comforting her dear husband.

Luigi stayed silent for a moment, but broke very quickly, "Mario and Peach have been pronounced dead!" Luigi sobbed, "And they couldn't even find the bodies!"

Daisy instantly began to form tears, "Oh my God, I can't believe it..." she said.

Luigi and Daisy began to sob with each other for a little while longer, until Daisy broke the cries.

"Well, Luigi, we should start to plan the funerals, as sad as it may be, the Mushroom People will want to know what happened, and they need a ruler too." Daisy said.

Luigi sighed, and looked up at Daisy, "I guess you're right, nothing is gonna get done if we just sit here..."

Daisy offered Luigi her hand, and pulled him into a standing position, she then kissed him passionately on the lips, "Luigi, I'm so sorry, I know this is hard, it's your brother, and family is never easy to part with, but just think, their both probably happy and looking down on us saying, 'Stop crying you babies!'"

This caused a small smile to jump onto Luigi's face, "Yeah you're right..." he said quietly.

Daisy smiled back at Luigi, and then took his hand. They began to walk to a filing room where paperwork could be done, and filed.

And with that, Luigi and Daisy began their legal journey to take control of the Mushroom Kingdom, as well as schedule a funeral for the two lovers. What will happen to Luigi and Daisy? Will they get the Mushroom Kingdom? What about Mario and Peach? Did they die? Will they ever get back, and if so, what will happen if or when they do? The world may never know…

THE END

 **Whoa, the end of the second story? I ultimately decided to end this story because I was veering away from the time travel aspect that the story was named after, and I figured, "Well, what's the point of naming something 'Time Paradox' when you stopped talking about time travel?" Anyway, sorry if this was an abrupt end, and I'm sorry for the week without uploads again, I happened to get a pretty nasty cold, and that kept me pent up for 4 days, and I couldn't write because all I could think about was how much the cold sucked. So anyway, if you read this far, spoiler alert, there will be a Long Haul 3, and the world will know eventually. Well, I hope you all enjoyed, and until next time, goodbye!**


End file.
